INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND HELPING PHYSICIANS TO TREAT CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Most people are familiar with the technology that gives expectant parents a peek at their unborn child. Now, local cardiologists are using the same tool--ultrasound--to treat heart disease. Cardiologists from Lake Charles Memorial Hospital's Heart Institute have acquired an intravascular
ultrasound device, and believe they will be able to better treat patients suffering from cardiovascular disease.
Ultrasound produces images by analyzing reflected sound waves. Using this technique within blocked blood vessels, cardiologists are able to get a high resolution image of the inside walls of the patients' arteries. This image can identify the type of blockage that is causing the patient's disease. With this highly defined look at stenosis, or blockage, cardiologists are better able to determine the most effective treatment for the patient.
To obtain these ultrasound images, cardiologists feed a catheter that contains the intravascular ultrasound device into the diseased blood vessel. Most often this technique is coupled with another diagnostic procedure called an angiogram. During an angiogram, dye is injected into the
bloodstream while x-rays are taken to identify blockages in the blood vessels of the heart. By using both the angiogram and the intravascular ultrasound, cardiologists get a much more accurate view of the clogged vessels. According to William Condos, M.D., of Memorial's Heart Institute
and Cardiovascular Institute of the South, "This new equipment will allow us to characterize a patient's cardiovascular disease with greater detail
and precision than has been possible in the past."
The intravascular ultrasound is also of great help to physicians both during and after procedures that clear away identified blockages. Cardiologists are finding that the ultrasound is a perfect addition to interventional procedures such as angioplasty, in which a balloon is used to open a clogged vessel, and stent replacement, in which tiny, stainless steel tubes are placed into newly opened vessels to help keep them from re-blocking. By using the ultrasound device during such procedures, cardiologists can immediately know if the procedure has been effective for the patient.
Dr. Condos and Michael McElderry, M.D., also from Memorial's Heart Institute and Cardiovascular Institute of the South, traveled to the Texas Heart Institute in Houston where they attended a training and certification course. Both physicians believe this new technology will enhance their ability to treat patients. Dr. Condos says, "We at CIS are always looking for new technology that will benefit our patients, and the intravascular ultrasound does just that. It extends our ability to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease."
The intravascular ultrasound is currently in use at Lake Charles Memorial's Heart Institute. For more information call Karen Hunter at (318) 494-3024.
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