Volume 14 - Issue 12 - December, 2006
The Year in Review and Where to Next? Interventional Cardiology 2007
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The year has also provided us with more information about how best to manage myocardial infarction beyond door-to-balloon time both directly and through improved pharmacology. The prevention of renal dysfunction during interventional studies remains of high interest in our field.
Let's start with the downside of DES. To reiterate, the biggest advance in the invasive treatment of coronary artery disease in the last decade is the drug-eluting stent. DES lowered the stent-related restenosis rate and remains highly effective for treating a variety of complex lesions. However, the downside o
Letter to the Editor
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Just a note to compliment Dr. Morton Kern on his recent Editor's Corner in Cath Lab Digest (The Scope of Practice in the Cath Lab: Are there limits as to what cath lab staff should do?, October 2006). I have worked in the cath lab at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier since it opened in February of 1977.
Dr. Kern's article was one of the most complete and carefully thought out breakdowns of duties in the cath lab I have seen. It truly is about taking responsibility in our areas of expertise, through education and experience, sharing that with our co-workers and providi
December 2006 Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP) News
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SICP Chapter News
As usual, the cath lab professionals in the Gulf Coast Region continue to make my dream come true. In 2003, we organized the Gulf Coast Chapter with a vision of providing a venue for cath lab staff to network and receive educational credits. Staff around the area supported the chapter by joining the SICP, attending meetings, and getting involved. Our meetings average 60 attendees. Industry representatives supported us by helping fund meetings and providing speakers. Without their support, we would not be successful. We now have our meetings scheduled a year in advance
SICP Q&A
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Answer: Unfortunately, no. Here is the reason why it probably cannot be done. RT to RPA is comparable to RN to MSN. Like the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) or Nurse Practitioner (NP), the Radiologic Physician Assistant is considered to be an RT advanced practitioner. Radiologic Technology is a profession related to completing a specific educational program. An RT is certified by the American Registry of Radiological Technologists (ARRT) after completing an accredited educational program, and passing a certification exam. This gives the practitioner the right to use the title Registered
Credentialing, Professional Standards and You
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All of us who have chosen to work in cardiac catheterization and EP laboratories come from a variety of backgrounds: nursing, cardiovascular technology, radiologic technology, respiratory therapy, emergency medical technology, and others. We comprise a group of allied health professionals, which generically can be termed invasive cardiovascular professionals. We are committed to administer the highest quality patient care by working as a cohesive team with physicians and each other. The quote above from Gutzon Borglum the artist, sculptor, and engineer who created the Mount Rushmore National M
News from the American Heart Association Meeting (AHA)
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The ACC and AHA Launch National Alliance To Reduce Door-to-Balloon (D2B) Times
The American College of Cardiology (ACC), together with the American Heart Association (AHA) and other key national healthcare organizations, announced the launch of its latest quality campaign, Door to Balloon (D2B): An Alliance for Quality. A Guidelines Applied in Practice (GAP) Program, the D2B campaign is aimed at improving the timeliness of lifesaving therapy for patients with heart attacks at U.S. hospitals that perform emergency angioplasty.
Previously published guidelines developed by the ACC
Clinical and Industry News
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ChloraPrep® Extends Product Line with New Hi-Lite Orange Tint
Medi-Flex announced an extension of its Chlora Prep® patient preoperative skin preparation line with the addition of new Hi-Lite Orange tinted applicators. The tint gives the surgical team assurance that the site has been prepped, while still allowing visualization of the skin.
The new ChloraPrep tint is available in three applicator sizes: 3 mL, 10.5 mL, and 26 mL. Medical professionals can request free samples by calling 800-523-0502.
ChloraPrep®, including the new tinted product, is a one-step patient preop
Ask the Clinical Instructor: A Q&A column for those new to the cath lab
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GFR is glomerular filtration rate. This should be very important to you and the staff taking care of the patient. GFR is better than creatinine and BUN for measuring kidney disease. Creatinines can be at high levels, but it can still be within normal limits for that patient because creatinines also measure muscle metabolism. Your more muscular patients, therefore, will have a higher level, which is normal for them.
GFR was originally measured by injecting inulin. Inulin is not reabsorbed by the kidneys, so it is excreated and can be measured accurately. GFR is measured in milliliters/min
Huntsville Hospital
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What type of procedures are performed at your facility?
A variety of procedures are performed on approximately 125 adult patients per week. Procedures include angioplasty, stenting, AngioJet® thrombectomy (Possis Medical, Inc., Minneapolis, MN) and Export Aspiration Catheter (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN), iLab Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) (Boston Scientific, Maple Grove, MN), FilterWire (Boston Scientific, Natick, MA), PolarCath (CryoVascular Systems, Inc./Boston Scientific), SmartWire Pressure System (Volcano Therapeutics, Inc., Rancho Cordova, CA), directional coronary atherecto
Structural Heart Disease Repair: A New Frontier for Interventionalists
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To be fair, pediatric interventional cardiologists began paving the way in the 1990s with endovascular repair of congenital heart defects, but the field is expanding to include adult patients. Interestingly, some adults who have had surgical repair of their congenital heart defects as infants or children repair that often can now be done percutaneously are now in need of revision, which in some cases can be done endovascularly.
Structural heart disease itself is a bit of an ambiguous umbrella term for any condition related to the heart and major arteries, rather than the smaller blood ves
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