Improved
6112 HealthChanged
3786 LivesSaved
3568 Lives0 lives impacted in the last 24 hrs Learn More
Dr. Andrew Atiemo discusses the advantages of drug-eluting stents and explains how cardiac catheterization is used to detect and treat heart disease. Dr. Atiemo practices medicine in Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Arizona.
Dr. Atiemo:
Cardiac catheterization is a tool that cardiologists use to gain information about the heart. Typically this involves going in through the artery in the groin, the femoral artery, and advancing a small tube up towards the heart. With this, dye can be injected into the coronary arteries and this is known as coronary angiography.
With coronary angiography the cardiologist can diagnose blockages in the coronary arteries. With this technique as well, cardiologists may also be able to treat blockages and that’s known as angioplasty.
In the current era of interventional cardiology, coronary artery disease can be treated with angioplasty and blockages that are treated with balloon therapy are often also stented.
A stent is a piece of metal that is used to keep the artery open and the initial generation of stents were not medicated; they were bare metal stents and the current generation of stents is known as drug-eluting stents and these stents are medicated stents and what we have learned is that with the medicated stents they are able to stay open much, much longer.
The drug that is coating the stent blocks the formation of tissue growth inside the stent and that process of tissue growth in the stent is called restenosis. This is a process that is extremely common with the older generation of stents – the bare metal stents. With the drug-eluting stents that restenosis rate is incredibly reduced and what that means for the patient is that they are much less likely to have to return for similar procedures.
About Dr. Andrew D. Atiemo, M.D., F.A.C.C.:
Dr. Atiemo is a cardiologist on staff at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, AZ. After completing his medical education at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Atiemo trained in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard teaching hospital. His passion for cardiology lead him to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland where he trained in general cardiology and interventional cardiology.
To Schedule Your Heart Health Check, Click Here
For More Information On Heart Care Services, Click Here
Keywords:
Condition: Heart Disease, VTE, Deep Venous Thromboembolism, Coronary Artery Disease, Cardiomyopathy, Cardiovascular Disease, Pulmonary Embolism
Related Terms: Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Support, Chest Pain, Cardiac Catheterization, Stress Test, Weak Heart Muscle, Vascular Trauma, Heart Muscle Inflammation, Blood Clots, Enlarged Heart
Health Care Provider: Banner Hospital, Banner Medical Center, Banner Health, Banner Thunderbird, Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, Banner Thunderbird Hospital
Location: Glendale, Arizona, Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Chandler, Surprise, North Phoenix, 85306
Expert: Dr. Andrew Atiemo, Andrew Atiemo, M.D., Dr. Atiemo, Doctor Andrew Atiemo, Cardiologist Andrew Atiemo, M.D.
Expertise: Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, Heart Catheterization, Balloon Angioplasty, Rheolytic Thrombectomy, AngioJet®, Acute Coronary Syndromes, Preventive Cardiology, Stress Cardiomyopathy