Emergency Angioplasty

A major heart attack occurs when a significant blockage occurs in a coronary artery. This is called an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (or STEMI). The quicker someone with this type of heart attack has the coronary artery opened, the better the chances are for survival and less permanent damage to the heart. The preferred treatment for this is emergency angioplasty and the benefit depends on how quickly an individual is treated.

In this procedure, a thin wire with a tiny balloon on the end is threaded through an artery to the blockage. When the balloon is inflated, it clears the blockage and restores blood flow to the heart. Our team has undergone extensive training in emergency angioplasty with the goal to assess, prepare and safely transport patients to our cardiac catheterization lab in 90 minutes or less. And our interventional cardiologists performing the emergency angioplasties have many years of experience and expertise in delivering this procedure.

To learn more about the Heart and Vascular Institute and angioplasty, please call 443-643-3729.