March 2011

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Volume 19 Issue 3

Editorial Staff

Clinical Editor
Morton Kern, MD
Executive Editor
Laurie Gustafson
Managing Editor
Rebecca Kapur
Production Manager
Elizabeth Vasil

Editorial Correspondence

Rebecca Kapur, Managing Editor, Cath Lab Digest
HMP Communications, 70 E. Swedesford Rd
Suite 100, Malvern PA 19355
Telephone: (440) 717-0418

Fax: (866) 896-8762
Email: rkapur@hmpglobal.com
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Parma Community General Hospital in Parma, Ohio, for a recent 9-minute door-to-balloon time! Dr. Christine Zirafi, the cardiac cath lab team, and the hospital’s emergency department are to be congratulated on this incredible testam…
News
FDA Advisory Committee Votes Favorably on Expanding the Indication for Abbott’s Carotid Stent System to Include Patients at Standard Surgical Risk Abbott announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Circulatory System Devices Panel of t…
STEMI Boot Camp: As Serious as a Heart Attack
There were no combat boots or drill sergeants present, but some 100 doctors, nurses, technologists and emergency medical services (EMS) workers reported for boot camp one bright January day in Fairfield, California -- Make that STEMI Boot Camp.
Aren’t There Any Cooks in the Kitchen? How to Access the Right Leadership Now!
With continual changes in reimbursement, regulation, and an increasingly competitive landscape for healthcare dollars, the emphasis on securing the right talent necessary to effectively lead a hospital’s clinical service lines has become heightened.…
RCIS Road to Success: Torrance Memorial Medical Center Hosts SICP Signature RCIS Review Course
Wow, what a journey it took to get here! I have been in the cath lab for almost six years. My former manager, Mark Raffaelle, instilled in me the idea that becoming a Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS) was a must. He encouraged me a…
The GuideLiner “Child” Catheter for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention — Early Clinical Experience
ABSTRACT: The failure to deliver a stent across the target lesion during percutaneous coronary intervention, especially in arteries with calcified tortuous anatomy, is often due to insufficient back-up support from the guiding catheter. Deep-vessel i…
A Q&A for Cath Labs With Physicians Performing Radial Access
Question #1: Can you do an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with the transradial approach? Case performed by Zaheed Tai, DO, Winter Haven Hospital, Winter Haven, Florida. An 84-year-old female was admitted to the emergency department and diagnosed with…
The War of the Medical Worlds: Government Versus Private Practice in Invasive Cardiology
Our History Transitioning From Private Labs to Hospitals Adele Serio, RN, RCIS, has been employed at Colorado Heart Institute (CHI) for 20 years. CHI originally opened its doors in 1987, built by a group of entrepreneurs who could envision how the th…
Single Catheter Technique for Transradial Catheterization in Bypass Patients
Case Report A 63-year-old patient had undergone robotic totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass (TECAB) involving the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) to the left anterior descending artery (LAD) 2 years prior. Subsequently, the patient develope…
Experience With the Arstasis-one Access Device
Tell us about this new femoral artery access device from Arstasis. Why were you initially interested? As physicians, we are always looking for a better solution for common clinical issues we face in the cath lab. Though there are some adequate solut…