Interventional Cardiology
The Penn Cardiac Care team now performs low-risk
catheterization procedures at Shore
Memorial Hospital.
The Penn Cardiac Care Interventional Cardiology
Program includes a team of dedicated interventional
cardiologists, nurses, and technicians. Together,
they provide the highest quality of care to patients
experiencing the following:
- undiagnosed chest pain syndromes
- chronic angina
- unstable angina
- acute myocardial
infarction
- valvular heart disease
- congestive heart failure
Many of these patients benefit from cardiac
catheterization - using angioplasty
and stenting-for the relief of blockages in the
heart. Our program's angioplasty/stent success
rate, which consistently ranks among the best
cardiovascular centers nationwide, is more than
95 percent.
Full-time interventional cardiologist faculty
members perform nearly 95% percent of the following
procedures in-house at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center:
The most cutting-edge treatments are available
for myocardial infarction, including the use of
primary angioplasty with stenting and the new
platelet inhibitors. We are also breaking ground
in the emergency room by using new throbolytic
agents in combination with new classes of drugs.
Drug-Eluting Stents
When a bare metal stent is implanted in a blocked
artery, there is a risk that the buildup of plaque
will recur around the stent several months after
implantation, a condition called restenosis. If
this happens, additional procedures may be required.
 Drug-eluting
stents are a dramatic technological advancement,
which have been proven to significantly reduce
the risk of restenosis among patients. These stents
are lined with medication which inhibit the build
up of plaque in the artery directly around the
stent, allowing blood to flow. Penn Cardiac Care
interventional cardiologists were among the few
in the country to help develop these stents and
participated in a study which evaluated their
effectiveness. While the risk of restenosis with
traditional stents is 20 percent, the study indicated
that drug-eluting stents decrease the risk to
just five percent, allowing patients to avoid
additional interventions and maintain their lifestyle.
Following the recent approval of drug-eluting
stents by the Food and Drug Administration, our
doctors are implanting them in most patients.
To learn if you are a candidate for this procedure,
please speak to your doctor.
Interventional Cardiology:
Gene
Chang, MD
William
C. Groh, MD
Robert
H. Li, MD
Alan
S. Moak, MD
William
H. Matthai, Jr., MD
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