Cardiac Services
Catheter-based treatment that restores blood flow to the heart muscle — precise, planned, and followed by a long-term prevention strategy.
Opening a narrowed artery is one part of the treatment. What follows it — medication, risk factor control, follow-up — determines the long-term result.
Where a coronary artery is significantly narrowed, a balloon is used to open the vessel and a stent is placed to hold it open. The procedure is performed through the same catheter access used for angiography, under local anaesthetic.
In many cases, angiography and intervention are performed in one sitting where this is clinically appropriate and has been discussed with you beforehand.
Antiplatelet medication is essential after stenting, and the duration is specified for each patient. Blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and smoking are addressed as part of the same treatment plan, not as separate issues.
Not all coronary disease is best treated with a stent. Where the pattern of disease favours bypass surgery, this is explained and referral to a cardiothoracic surgeon is arranged, with the cardiologist remaining involved in your ongoing care.
Any interventional procedure follows a specialist assessment and a discussion of the alternatives.