Minimally Invasive Procedures

Angioplasty is a procedure that widens narrowed or blocked arteries caused by coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is caused by deposits of cholesterol and other substances called plaque in the walls of the arteries. The blockage due to deposits narrows the blood vessels, reducing blood flow to the heart. 

Angioplasty restores blood flow to the heart without the need for open heart surgery. It can also be performed in other body parts with narrow or blocked arteries, such as the neck, limbs, kidneys, and pelvis. 

During the procedure, a long, thin tube called a catheter is guided into the blocked artery. The catheter has a tiny balloon at its tip, which once in place, inflates at the narrowed area of the artery. It presses the plaque or blood clot against the sides of the artery, making room for blood flow.

A stent is an expandable metal mesh coil placed in the artery to help prevent it from narrowing or closing again after opening the blocked arteries. There are two types of stent placement in arteries: Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Carotid Artery Stenting.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), or coronary angioplasty with stent placement, is performed to open blocked coronary arteries. After the blocked artery is opened through angioplasty, the stent is placed to prevent it from narrowing or becoming blocked again. 

Carotid Artery Stenting is a treatment for carotid artery disease, in which plaque forms in the carotid artery, which carries blood to the brain. A carotid stent is placed in the narrowed or blocked artery using a tube with a balloon at the end. The procedure typically involves temporarily blocking the blood flow from the narrowed artery to the brain to prevent any pieces of plaque from reaching the brain that may cause stroke.

Peripheral vascular interventions are a group of minimally invasive catheter-based procedures that we perform to treat conditions affecting the arteries outside the heart and brain, typically the lungs, kidneys, arms, and legs. We use these procedures to open blocked blood vessels, remove blood clots, and lower high blood pressure.

Peripheral vascular interventions include multiple types of balloon angioplasty, stenting, and atherectomy. Atherectomy uses a tube with a sharp blade, laser, or rotating device on the end to scrape away, dissolve, or break up plaque to open blocked arteries. At BKLYN Cardio, our interventional cardiologist, Dr. Matthew Jones, uses these procedures to treat blocked arteries outside the heart without making large incisions.

An implantable loop recorder (ILR) is a heart recording device implanted under the chest skin. It reads electrical signals from the heart continuously. We use ILR to look for causes of fainting, palpitations, and fast or slow heartbeats.

During the procedure, the device is implanted through a small incision in your skin, usually in the left upper chest. The loop recorder is about the size of a flat AAA battery. 

You will be placed under observation for a short duration after the procedure to ensure there are no complications. Our team also guides you on caring for the incision site and activities to avoid during the initial healing period.

Intracardiac pressure monitoring devices closely monitor patients with heart failure by inserting a small sensor in the pulmonary artery to measure and record pulmonary artery pressure. 

At BKLYN Cardio, we use interventional cardiology techniques to implant intracardiac pressure monitoring devices. After the procedure, we monitor the patient for any complications and may perform further tests to ensure the device is functioning properly. 

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a battery-powered heart monitoring device inserted in the chest to detect and stop irregular heartbeats. It can also deliver electric shocks to restore a regular heart rhythm.

The procedure to place an ICD in the chest using minimally invasive procedures takes a few hours. Once the device is in place, we test and program it for your specific heart rhythm needs. We may advise you to refrain from certain activities, such as heavy lifting and strenuous exercise, as the area where the ICD is placed may remain tender for a few days.