Interventional Cardiology

Advanced generation of stents

The design and functionality of stents used by interventional cardiologists in Waxahachie to treat heart conditions have improved, allowing for better options for cardiac patients. Access to the advanced generation of interventional devices, including cardiac, carotid, and vascular stents, allows for the personalized care each heart patient needs.

Chronic total occlusion (CTO)

For high-risk patients in Waxahachie and surrounding communities seeking treatment for totally occluded arteries, Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Waxahachie is one of a few facilities in Texas offering chronic total occlusion (CTO) stenting. An option to bypass surgery, the Waxahachie heart hospital has experienced interventional cardiologists and the technology to perform this more complex procedure successfully.

Coronary angioplasty and stenting

Angioplasty is a minimally invasive interventional heart procedure to open narrowed or blocked coronary arteries that carry blood to the heart. A coronary artery stent, often placed during or immediately after angioplasty, is a small, metal mesh tube that expands inside a coronary artery. Its purpose is to prevent the artery from becoming blocked again. A drug-eluting stent is coated with medicine to help prevent the artery from re-closing. Using this approach, interventional cardiologists on the medical staff at Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Waxahachie can often achieve results similar to those of more invasive methods like open-heart surgery while minimizing pain, recovery time, and complications.

Coronary atherectomy

This procedure removes plaque from a heart artery via a specially equipped catheter used by the interventional cardiologists on the hospital’s medical staff.

Peripheral angiography and angioplasty

During angiography, interventional cardiologists inject dye through a catheter to create X-ray images of blood vessels to identify blockages. This minimally invasive procedure can be done on peripheral arteries and veins throughout the body. Angioplasty, a procedure that uses a tiny balloon catheter inserted in a blocked blood vessel to help widen it and improve blood flow throughout the cardiovascular system, is sometimes the next step if narrowing or blockages are during angiography.

Peripheral atherectomy

Peripheral atherectomy removes plaque from an artery using a specialized catheter.

Transradial cardiac catheterization

Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Waxahachie proudly offers an alternative approach to cardiac catheterization: radial artery catheterization. For many years, the femoral artery near the groin was the primary entry point for cardiac catheterization during minimally invasive cardiology procedures. However, in the radial catheterization approach, the catheter is inserted through the radial artery in the wrist. While this procedure may not be appropriate for all patients requiring a cardiac catheterization, for those who qualify, the radial catheterization approach offers:

• Lowered risk of complications due to excessive bleeding
• Reduced bed rest time
• Less pain
• Generally, faster recovery time and more rapid return to work/life