Interventional cardiologists with The Heart Group of Lancaster General Health expertly perform advanced percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures to treat coronary artery disease. Also known as coronary angioplasty with heart stenting, PCI improves blood flow to your heart by opening blocked or narrowed coronary arteries. These arteries carry blood to your heart.
What Is Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)?
PCI is a treatment for blocked, narrowed or hardened arteries. It breaks up and gets rid of plaque deposits of fat and cholesterol called atherosclerosis. These plaques can form over time inside your coronary arteries.
When too much plaque builds up, you develop coronary artery disease. The plaque makes your arteries too narrow or stiff, slowing blood flow to your heart. Coronary artery disease increases your risk of heart attack, arrhythmias and heart failure.
Our doctors typically perform PCI procedures in two parts to get you the best results:
- During a coronary angioplasty, your doctor inflates a small balloon inside the blocked artery to reopen it.
- Your doctor then places a heart stent inside the artery to keep it open permanently.
What Is Heart Stenting?
A heart stent is a metal mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to keep an artery open after angioplasty. Depending on your diagnosis, you may get a drug-eluting stent. These coated stents release a medication that prevents scar tissue from forming inside the artery. Scar tissue can close the artery again, leading to a condition known as restenosis.
Angioplasty and Heart Stenting: The Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Advantage
Our Heart & Vascular Institute is home to the only dedicated Interventional Cardiology Clinic and one of the only hybrid operating rooms in the Lancaster region. We offer specialized, comprehensive care for common to complex cardiovascular issues.
You benefit from:
Experienced Interventional Cardiologists
When you come to our clinic, you’re in the hands of skilled board-certified interventional cardiologists. Our team performs a high volume of angioplasty and stenting procedures every year, including complex treatments for high-risk patients. Our experts work together to develop the most effective treatment plan for your unique condition. When needed, our interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons perform catheter-based and open-chest procedures together in our state-of-the-art hybrid operating room.
Innovative Angioplasty and Stenting Techniques
We use flow measurements, or instantaneous wave-free ratio (IFR), to precisely determine which blockages truly require treatment. This approach helps prevent unnecessary procedures. We’re also among a select few national centers to routinely use intravascular ultrasound technology to check that stents fully open after angioplasty, promoting optimum blood flow.
Treatments include:
- Balloon angioplasty with stenting: After the artery opens from the balloon angioplasty, a stent expands inside the treated section of the artery to keep it from narrowing again.
- Rotablation (percutaneous transluminal rotational atherectomy): If you have severely hardened plaque that’s difficult to remove, our doctors use a special catheter with a rotating, diamond-coated tip to grind the plaque into tiny particles. These particles harmlessly flush away in your bloodstream. They then perform balloon angioplasty and stenting. Undergoing rotablation before balloon angioplasty ensures that the stent can fully expand inside the artery. This approach lowers your risk of blood clots and restenosis.
- Excimer laser coronary atherectomy: We use a special laser to ablate (vaporize) the blockages inside the artery.
- Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL): This advanced technology uses high-energy shock waves to break up blockages inside the arteries.
A Faster, Safer Recovery
Our team performs almost all PCI procedures through a catheter threaded through the radial artery in your wrist. Using this access point—instead of the femoral artery in your groin—means less recovery time in bed for you. This approach also lowers the risk of bleeding complications.
Comprehensive PCI Procedures
Depending on the severity of the plaque buildup, we may perform more than one type of percutaneous coronary intervention to achieve the best results. Your PCI procedure may take place during a heart catheterization in our catheterization lab or hybrid OR.
Advanced Treatments for People With Complex Heart Conditions
If you have a heart condition that makes angioplasty and stenting more challenging, our team has the expertise to help. Our doctors use mechanical circulatory support to help your heart pump blood as they perform percutaneous coronary intervention. Depending on your condition, we may use the Impella® heart support device or an external device like extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
Compassionate Care
We take the time to review your medical history and records, so we can address your questions and concerns at each appointment. You’re a key part of the decision-making process, which helps ensure our recommended treatment plan gets the results you desire.
What to Expect During Angioplasty and Heart Stenting
You should follow your care team’s instructions about how to prepare for this procedure. You’ll receive anesthesia and sleep through the procedure.
During balloon angioplasty and stenting, your doctor:
- Accesses the radial artery in your wrist.
- Inserts a balloon-tipped catheter with a stent into the radial artery.
- Uses ultrasound technology to guide the catheter to the narrowed part of the coronary artery.
- Inflates the balloon, which opens the artery and allows the stent to expand.
- Deflates the balloon.
- Gently removes the catheter and balloon.
Contact Us
To learn more about our interventional cardiology services, call 717-544-8300.