Frankfort Regional Medical Center

D id FrankfortRegional.com You Know ? It takes a team to heal a heart. The interventional cardiology program at Frankfort Regional Medical Center is the product of cooperation and coordination between many internal and external partners, including: • local emergency services organizations • our cardiology team • physicians who provide support and consultation for certain cases Expanding Your Cardiology Options Frankfort Regional Medical Center is bringing interventional cardiology— a potentially lifesaving cardiac care specialty—close to home. Beginning this fall, patients will no longer have to travel to Lexington or Louisville for elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as angioplasty. When a patient's artery is obstructed by plaque, restricting blood flow to the heart, an interventional cardiologist at Frankfort Regional will be able to use a minimally invasive, catheter-based approach to open the vessel. In addition, plans call for an emergency PCI program for heart attack patients to be in place by next spring. "Developing an interventional cardiology program was a natural step for us, given the populations of the communities we serve and the level of expertise at our hospital," says Lee Higginbotham, FACHE, Chief Operating Officer at Frankfort Regional. "Offering PCI to patients locally helps them achieve the best possible outcomes and relieves them and their families of one of the most stressful parts of the healing process: traveling for care." Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) 6 certified interventional cardiologist at Frankfort Regional and Bluegrass suffer heart attacks Cardiology Consultants. "A blockage may experience less way out in the leaves has minimal permanent muscle effect on the tree's health. In general, damage because we'll we treat tree trunk blockages with be able to restore bypass surgery and leaf blockages with medications; main branch blood flow to their obstructions are the best candidates arteries here instead for PCI." of having to transfer To perform PCI, an interventional them elsewhere." cardiologist threads a hollow tube— a catheter—through a small incision in a patient's wrist or groin to the site of a blockage. The physician passes a miniature balloon through the catheter to the blockage and inflates it to compress plaque against the artery wall. In many cases, he or she also inserts a mesh cylinder called Steven D. Filardo, MD, a stent to support weakened arterial MPH, FACC walls and hold the vessel open, Interventional allowing blood to flow through. Cardiologist Swift performance of PCI is critical for heart attack patients—the faster blood flow is restored, the less damage the heart UNBLOCKING THE BRANCHES sustains. Soon, these patients will be able to put their To understand how blockages affect the arterial hearts in their local hospital's hands. system and who benefits from PCI, picture a tree. Â To schedule an appointment with an "An obstruction in the trunk affects the entire tree, interventional cardiologist, call Consult-A Nurse® whereas a blockage in one of the main branches is less at 502-226-1655 or toll-free at 877-FRMC-MD1 critical because it doesn't put the whole tree at risk," (877-376-2631). explains Steven D. Filardo, MD, MPH, FACC, board"Individuals who

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