The length of tenure in our lab ranges from 2 years to 6 months. We are very lucky that we have low staff turnover.

What type of procedures are performed at your facility?

We perform approximately 90 procedures per week, ranging from simple diagnostic to more complex coronary, peripheral and structural repairs (i.e., patent foramen ovale [PFO] closure, atrial septal defect [ASD] repairs, etc.). Our annual volume of coronary diagnostic and interventional procedures is 4,395. Our annual peripheral procedure volume is 255.

Does your cath lab perform primary angioplast

Interview questions were formulated by members of the Cath Lab Digest Editorial Board.Has the meta-analysis told us anything about criteria to fall back on when choosing between a bare-metal stent and a drug-eluting stent?

Angiography revealed a single vessel chronic total occlusion (CTO) of the right coronary artery (RCA) with collateral circulation feeding the distal vessel. Failed attempts utilizing standard guidewires to open the RCA were made the following day. The patient returned to the cardiac catheterization lab approximately one month later and consented to enroll in the FlowCardia CRosser As the First Therapy (CRAFT) study. CRAFT is a study designed to evaluate use of the CROSSER System (FlowCardia, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) as the primary device to navigate across a CTO prior to a standard guidewire attem

How often have you heard that from a patient? This question has been posed to me numerous times over the course of the past twenty years. Sometimes the more you know, the harder it becomes to answer the question.

We had a dilemma. An asymptomatic, well-conditioned 52-year-old runner with mild, treated hyperlipidemia was concerned about heart disease because of a strong family history of coronary artery disease (CAD). He underwent coronary CT angiography (CTA) which demonstrated some calcific plaques in the left anterior descending (LAD) and circumflex arteries, with 2 intermediately severe lesions in the LAD and normal left ventricular function. As a result, he underwent an exercise stress echocardiography test. Upon achieving 11 minutes of exercise and his maximal predicted heart rate, left ventricula

There is no doubt that increased educational training in the performance of specific procedures and/or processes can make for a higher standard of care. Giving staff the tools to do their jobs enhances their performance. Increased education is certainly a tool, one that leads to increased skill levels, which in turn also increases physician confidence in staff. How many times has a physician asked, What do you think? What size do you think that vessel (or lesion length or diameter) is? When positioning a balloon or stent in a precise location, have you been asked, Does that look good to you? H

My life has been greatly influenced, both personally and professionally, by combined experiences from two completely different worlds: one in my native country, Montenegro, the former Yugoslavia, and the other here in the United States. I always had the dream of coming to this country, but I have also always loved my country deeply and nostalgically. Now both of these worlds are a great part of me. The knowledge and experience gained from each fulfills and enhances my life and my profession.

New Questions

Please plan to join us in April at The Contemporary Cardiovascular Medicine Symposium. This is an exceptional conference for invasive cardiovascular professionals. Now in its 6th year, the symposium is designed to serve as a comprehensive update on emerging and accepted techniques and methodologies for treating patients in all areas of cardiovascular disease. World-renowned faculty will present didactic lectures, workshops and discussions, and there will be live case presentations from major cardiovascular centers.

The month of February is American Heart Month and the week of February 10-17, 2007 is celebrated as Cardiovascular Professionals Week. It is important to appreciate various professions and to heighten public awareness of the valuable contributions made by these professionals. There are many reasons to recognize invasive cardiovascular professionals, including: