Our team of interventional specialists provides treatment for patients diagnosed with one of the following conditions:

Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle (the coronary arteries) become hardened and narrowed. The arteries harden and narrow due to buildup of a material called plaque (plak) on their inner walls. The buildup of plaque is known as atherosclerosis (ATH-er-o-skler-O-sis). As the plaque increases in size, the insides of the coronary arteries get narrower and less blood can flow through them. Eventually, blood flow to the heart muscle is reduced, and, because blood carries much-needed oxygen, the heart muscle is not able to receive the amount of oxygen it needs. Reduced or cutoff blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart muscle can result in:

More about CAD is available at the National Institutes of Health website >

Cardiomyopathy is a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't work as well as it should. There may be multiple causes including viral infections.

Cardiomyopathy can be classified as primary or secondary. Primary cardiomyopathy can't be attributed to a specific cause, such as high blood pressure, heart valve disease, artery diseases or congenital heart defects. Secondary cardiomyopathy is due to specific causes. It's often associated with diseases involving other organs as well as the heart.

There are three main types of cardiomyopathy: dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive.

For more useful information about cardiomyopathy here is a direct link to the American Heart Association’s website >

A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle itself — the myocardium — is severely reduced or stopped. The reduction or stoppage happens when one or more of the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle is blocked. This is usually caused by the buildup of plaque (deposits of fat-like substances, a process called atherosclerosis. The plaque can eventually burst, tear or rupture, creating a "snag" where a blood clot forms and blocks the artery. This leads to a heart attack.

The American Heart Association has extensive, easy to understand information about heart attack on its website.  Here is a direct link >

Angina pectoris is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease.  Angina is a symptom of a condition called myocardial ischemia.  It occurs when the heart muscle (myocardium) doesn't get as much blood (hence as much oxygen) as it needs. This usually happens because one or more of the heart's arteries (blood vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle) is narrowed or blocked.  Insufficient blood supply is called ischemia.

We invite you to visit the American Heart Association’s website for more useful, easy to understand information about Angina.  Here’s the link >

Stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die.

More about stroke is at the American Stroke Association website >

Claudication is discomfort or pain in your legs that happens when you walk and goes away when you rest. You may not always feel pain; instead you may feel a tightness, heaviness, cramping, or weakness in one or both of your legs. Claudication often occurs more quickly if you walk uphill or up a flight of stairs. Over time, you may feel claudication at shorter walking distances, as the degree of artery blockage worsens.

Find out more about claudication >

Peripheral vascular diseases are those related to the blood vessels outside the heart and brain.  Often they are the narrowing of vessels carrying blood to the legs, arms, stomach or kidneys, i.e., “hardening of the arteries.”  There are two categories of these circulation problems: functional and organic. 

Functional peripheral vascular diseases don’t have an organic cause.  That is, the blood vessels aren’t defective.  Usually, the effects are short term, related to a spasm and come and go.  They may be triggered by cold, emotional stress, working with vibrating machinery or smoking.

Organic peripheral vascular diseases result from structural changes in the blood vessels, such as inflammation or damage to the tissues. 

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a condition whereby fatty deposits build in the inner linings of the artery walls.  The blockages restrict blood circulation, primarily in the arteries leading to the kidneys, stomach, arms, legs and feet.

Diagnosing PAD may be done with:

Our hearts are composed of four valves: mitral, tricuspid, aortic and pulmonic.

Valve disease is caused by valvular stenosis or valvular insufficiency.

In valvular stenosis, valve leaflet tissues become stiffer, narrowing the valve openings and reducing the amount of blood that can flow through.  A mild narrowing may not reduce the heart’s overall function, but it can become so narrow (stenotic) that function is compromised and the rest of the body may not be adequately served.

Valvular insufficiency, or regurgitation, incompetence, "leaky valve,” occurs when the leaflets do not close completely, letting blood leak backward across the valve. This backward flow is referred to as “regurgitant flow.”

Valve disease can be congenital or acquired later in life.  Congenital valve disease may be related to improper valve size, malformed leaflets or leaflets being wrongly attached.  Acquired valve diseases are usually the result of a change in the valve’s structure or an infection. 

Infective endocarditis and rheumatic fever are the two common infections that cause valve disease.

Rheumatic fever causes heart valve leaflets to become inflamed and may cause the leaflets to stick together and become scarred, rigid, thickened or shortened.  Additionally, it may cause one of the valves to become stenotic or leaky.

Endocarditis is a life-threatening infection that results when germs attach to the heart valves’ surface.  Endocarditis can cause growths on the valves, holes or scarring of the valve tissue or the valves to leak or become stenotic. 

Coronary artery disease, heart attacks, cardiomyopathy, syphilis, hypertension, aortic aneurysms, connective tissue diseases, tumors and some types of medications and radiation can also cause valve disease.

The structure of the valve can be caused from heart attack, a heart valve infection or trauma.

Atrial septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease in which there is an opening in the wall between the right and left atrium of the heart (the upper chambers).  This results in some oxygenated blood from the left flowing through a hole in the septum into the right, mixing with oxygen-poor blood and increasing the amount of blood flowing to the lungs.  This creates a swishing sound, a heart murmur, which can be the first indication of the problem.

When the defects are a certain size they generally need to be corrected either with a catheter procedure or with open heart surgery. 

If the normal opening between the left and right atria of the heart fails to close naturally soon after a baby is born, it is called a patent foramen ovale (PFO).

A PFO enables blood to bypass the lungs.  PFOs are not uncommon, and in most cases don’t cause problems.

Often PFOs aren’t diagnosed unless a patient has a stroke or another illness.  A Transesophegeal Echocardiogram can diagnose a PFO.