Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health is the only medical center in Lancaster County with a dedicated Interventional Cardiology Clinic. We offer the most advanced catheter-based procedures for problems that affect your heart and blood vessels.
Interventional cardiology specialists from The Heart Group of Lancaster General Health expertly treat patients with complex medical needs. This expertise means our doctors are also exceptionally skilled at performing more common diagnostic tests and treatments. You receive care from a highly experienced team.
What Is Interventional Cardiology?
Interventional cardiologists use thin, flexible tubes called catheters that go through blood vessels to diagnose and treat conditions that affect your blood vessels and heart. These minimally invasive procedures take place through small holes without opening your chest.
Why You Might Need Interventional Cardiology
Our doctors use interventional cardiology procedures to diagnose and treat conditions that affect how blood flows to your heart, through your heart and to the rest of your body. These conditions include:
Interventional Cardiology: Why Choose Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health?
We’re a leader in interventional cardiology, performing a high volume of catheter-based cardiovascular procedures. Because we have such deep experience, you benefit from improved outcomes and an exceptionally low risk of complications. You receive advanced care, closer to home.
We offer:
- Dedicated Interventional Cardiology Clinic: At the region’s only Interventional Cardiology Clinic, we make it easy for you to see all the heart specialists you need. We also help you quickly get the tests and procedures you need. Your care team may include cardiothoracic surgeons and a cardiologist with advanced training in cardiac imaging. These specialists work closely to diagnose conditions and develop the most effective treatment plan for you. Our doctors take the time to respond to your questions or concerns.
- Advanced procedures for high-risk patients: We’re the only center in the Lancaster region with the expertise and technology to help patients who are at high risk for complications due to heart failure or other conditions. Other centers send their patients to us for this advanced care. When needed, our team uses mechanical circulatory support technology to successfully open blocked arteries and perform other treatments.
- Focus on patient safety and improved outcomes: We routinely use intravascular ultrasound technology to guide angioplasty and stenting. This approach ensures that stents fully open for optimum blood flow. In addition, our catheter procedures frequently take place through the radial artery in your wrist instead of the femoral artery in your groin. You’re out of bed faster with less risk of complications.
- One of the region’s only hybrid operating room: We have one of the only hybrid ORs in the Lancaster area, enabling multiple heart specialists to treat different heart conditions at once. Depending on your diagnosis, you may get treatments from our interventional cardiologists and heart surgeons during the same procedure. The hybrid OR also allows our team to quickly switch from a catheter approach to an open-chest surgery when needed.
- Access to the latest research: Our team is actively involved in research and clinical trials to improve interventional cardiology procedures and get you the best results. Our ongoing participation in heart and vascular clinical trials and research means you may be able to try new procedures and therapies still in development.
Interventional Cardiology Procedures We Offer
Our Interventional Cardiology Clinic offers the most catheter-based cardiovascular procedures in the Lancaster region. We offer:
Catheterization
We perform more than 3,000 diagnostic heart catheterizations and interventional cardiology procedures every year. We’re known for our exceptional patient outcomes and low complication rates.
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Our doctors use advanced percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures to open blocked coronary arteries and place stents to keep the arteries open. We’re the only ones in the region routinely using a specialized catheter with a diamond tip to break up hard-to-remove blockages. PCI procedures are also known as coronary angioplasty with stenting.
Impella
We perform angioplasty and stenting on patients with weakened hearts who are high-risk for complications. We sometimes use Impella®, a temporary heart pump, to support your heart while working on your coronary arteries.
Heart Valve Repair and Replacement
Our doctors have extensive experience in minimally invasive valve repair and replacement procedures, such as TAVR and TMVr. TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) and TMVr (transcatheter mitral valve repair) fix faulty heart valves without the need for open heart surgery.
Contact Us
To learn more about our interventional cardiology services, call 717-544-8300.