Our cath lab team consists of the following: five RNs, four RT(R)s, one cardiovascular technologist (CVT)/ Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS), two clerical/support staff, and one cath lab director. We are under the direction of an administrative and a medical director of the cardiac cath lab.

The majority of team members have been working together for over ten years, although one of our registered nurses (RNs), Sue Salimaki, is new to the cath lab environment. At the time of this article’s publication, a new cath lab director, Cindy Olson, RN, will also have joined our t

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, home of the Texas Heart Institute, figures prominently in the campus of the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. It boasts one of the largest cardiac catheterization laboratories in the world, devoting three labs to electrophysiology studies (cardiac mapping, bi-ventricular automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators [AICD], pulmonary vein ablations, permanent pacemakers [PPM]), three labs to peripheral vascular procedures (abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, limb salvage, carotid and peripheral stenting), and the remaining five labs to coronary procedures

Can you briefly describe the Paclitaxel-Eluting PTCA balloon catheter in Coronary Artery Disease (PEPCAD)-I SVD and II-ISR trials?

These two trials follow a pilot study done by Scheller et al, published in the New England Journal of Medicine1 in 2006. Dr. Scheller compared plain old balloon angioplasty with a paclitaxel-eluting balloon in a small cohort of patients with in-stent restenosis. He found that patients who received the drug-eluting balloon had both significantly lower restenosis rates and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) such as myocardial infarction, bypass surgery, re

Sameer Mehta, MD, FACC, MBA, is studying ST-elevation myocardial infarction interventions in his work with the Primary PCI and the Single INdividual Community Experience REgistry for Primary PCI (SINCERE) Database at 5 community hospitals in Miami, Florida. A past chief of interventional cardiology and director of the cardiovascular laboratory at Cedars Medical Center in Miami, Dr. Mehta is also president of the Indo-American Society of Interventional Cardiologists (ISIC) and a course director for the Lumen-Vascular Interventions Symposium.

Dr. Mehta will be commenting on the important wor

We well know that many metallic devices implanted in the heart may create problems in the very intense magnetic field of MR imaging. From several excellent reviews,^1,2 we can better appreciate the interaction of magnetic resonance imaging and the metallic devices we implant in patients.

It is important to recognize that there are three mechanisms of strong magnetic fields which may produce risk to patients. These are:

1. The attraction effect of a static magnetic field.

2. The electric current generation effect of a gradient magnetic field.

3. The heating effect of focu

You also cite the study by Omran in Lancet which is oft quoted by fellows to prove that the valve should not be crossed (Omran H, Schmidt H, Hackenbroch M, et al. Silent and apparent cerebral embolism after retrograde catheterisation of the aortic valve in valvular stenosis: A prospective, randomised study. Lancet 2003;361:1241-1246.).

I have not heard anyone question the technique used in the Omran study. They used a Terumo wire in crossing the valve. This hydrophilic wire is known to have a tendency to go through and under plaques and can easily cause dissections. I believe

The cardiovascular service line, and especially the diagnostic and interventional cardiology departments have long fostered a team approach to care, through cross-training of staff, an all-for-one approach to staffing and case coverage, and even team uniforms. This effort has not gone unnoticed and, in fact, shown tremendous results in terms of improved operational efficiency; staff, patient and physician satisfaction; and lower than average turnover rates. Indeed, the vacancy rates in most facilities are much lower in cardiac-specific areas. These are the very reasons that hospital leadership

How to Celebrate and Appreciate Cardiovascular Professionals

Do you work with a group of dedicated, compassionate, overworked healthcare professionals? Do you want to appreciate them and recognize them for their hard work?

Remember it’s great to celebrate people during a special time and the best celebration happens regularly. Is there a way you can celebrate people every day? Some of the programs/ideas below can be (and should be!) considered as a year-long celebration effort.

Based on our interviews and research, below are some unique ways to celebrate cardiovascular he

Once mainly performed at large teaching hospitals, clinical research has spread into community hospitals, private physician offices, and independent research companies. The growth of clinical research provides hospitals and doctors the necessary tools to provide their patients with the latest technology. The general public has become shoppers for medicine and largely due to the internet, the public has the ability to search for what they feel is the best and most recent treatment.

Being idle and waiting for the technology to get to you is no longer an option for today’s highly competitiv

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the lab,
Not a creature was stirring, no patients on the slab.
The catheters were hung in the guider room with care,
Hoping no STEMI soon would be there.

The nurses and techs all snuggled in their beds,
While visions of coronaries danced in their heads.
And the HART team by the phone, my cell in my lap.
Just waiting for the call to disturb my winter’s nap.

When the helo touched down, there arose such a clatter.
The phone near my ear, I answered, What's the matter?
Away from my house I flew like a flash.
Flying toward Emory,