Interventional Cardiology

The Interventional Cardiology Centres at Apollo Heart Institutes has been at the forefront in the field since its inception. The Centre is manned by some of the Best Interventional Cardiologists in India who are trained at the best Institutes across the world for the treatment of heart diseases. Coronary stenting is routine and performed by most of the interventional cardiologists. Patients with high risk and multi vessel involvement are also treated.

Primary angioplasty, an approach of opening blocked coronary artery during acute myocardial infarction, in place of thrombolysis is practised in suitable cases. The cardiologists have performed over 3,40,000 angiographies and over 3,00,000 coronary angioplasties since the establishment of Interventional Cardiology Centres. Non-coronary intervention deals with a variety of cardiovascular diseases. Subclavian, iliac, femoral and carotid artery balloon angioplasty and stenting are being performed. Vascular dissection and aneurysm repair are also conducted with covered stents.

Non-Surgical Closure of Heart Defects

Patients with a hole in their heart, whether an Atrial Septal Defect, a small Ventricular Septal Defect or a Patent Ductus Arteriosus can be closed effectively by Button or Amplatzer’s device or coils.

Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery

Doctors at Apollo Hospitals use minimally invasive techniques to perform multiple graft heart bypass surgery without cutting through a single bone. The new procedure is less painful and leads to faster healing, compared to conventional bypass. It is the first time in India that multiple grafts have been put at the back side of the heart through minimally invasive coronary surgery. Many non-operative procedures are also done to avoid skin incisions (“key-hole”). These include interventional cardiology treatments like non-surgical closure of atrial septal defects, ventricular septal defects and patent ductus arteriosus and balloon valvuloplasty of the pulmonary, aortic and mitral valves. Read more

ClearWay^TM RX – Rapid Exchange Therapeutic Perfusion Catheter

The ClearWay^TM RX – Rapid Exchange Therapeutic Perfusion Catheter helps save larger area of heart muscle in heart attacks. Cardiac interventionists now know that it is not sufficient to remove the big clot that produces a heart attack; ensuring that the small vessels supply blood to the heart muscle is just as crucial… Read more

Dedicated Bifurcation Stent technology for Complex Bifurcation Angioplasty

Bifurcation lesion means there is a blockage in a site where the blood vessel divides into two and is more challenging to treat. Two branches of the blood vessel have narrowing. If a balloon angioplasty is performed in one, there are chances of the other branch closing. Conventionally one or two stents are placed and there are chances of recurrence in the side branch… Read more

Bioresorsable Vascular Scaffold (BVS)

The new Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS), a non metallic mesh tube that is used to treat a narrowed artery, is similar to a stent, but slowly dissolves once the blocked artery can function naturally again and stays open on its own. Similar to a small mesh tube, BVS is designed to help open up a blocked artery in the heart and restore blood flow to the heart muscle . BVS gradually dissolves once the artery can stay open on its own, potentially allowing the blood vessel to function naturally again.

CrossBoss Catheter

A decade ago, most of the patients with 100% blocked arteries were either managed medically or sent for surgery with long recovery times before they got back to their work. Today all these blocks can be cleared with latest advancements in angioplasty using advanced technologies that can be performed successfully in a few hours.

The CrossBoss Catheter is the latest technology introduced in India for the treatment of 100% blocked arteries. This catheter is made of a stainless steel braid and has a rounded tip that can be rotated in any direction. This facilitates the crossing of the 100% block, either through the tough lesions or can travel behind the blocked segment and exit beyond the lesion. At this point the next novel device called StingRay Balloon is used to get back into the actual passage of the blood vessel, using specialised wires.

Highlights of CrossBoss Catheter:

• Minimally invasive
• Faster recovery
• Reduced hospital stay
• Minimal blood loss

Along with minimal scarring and quicker recovery time, these newly introduced devices will add a new dimension to the treatment of chronic total occlusions (100% blocked arteries). This technology enhances the methods used by Japanese Cardiologists to open these blocked arteries and improves the clinical outcomes. For Cardiologists who are specialists in Chronic Total Occlusion (100% blocked arteries), this device is a great tool to have and will improve outcomes significantly. More such devices are expected in the future to treat such complex problems.

Such Interventional cardiology services in India require highly skilled Clinicians with expertise along with excellent critical care staff in a tertiary care hospital set up like Apollo hospitals