Allegheny Health Network: Offering innovative heart and cardiovascular care
Innovative technology helps Allegheny Health Network doctors
treat leg artery blockages and evaluate coronary artery blockages
headlights. We now have the ability to clearly see our way through
the artery. This means there is less risk of damaging the artery walls.”
Tom Krigar, of Adams Township, Butler County, underwent both the
Pantheris and Ocelot procedures in April, after pain in his calves had
gotten so bad that he could not walk on a treadmill.
Now, he’s back on the treadmill, pain-free and walking several
miles a day.
“This means a lot to me. I’m back to normal. I can do almost
anything now,” Tom said.
A team of cardiovascular surgeons at Allegheny General
Hospital (AGH) recently became the first in the region to use a
groundbreaking new technology to provide relief for patients
suffering from peripheral artery disease (PAD).
It’s just one of the ways that Allegheny Health Network (AHN) uses
new Federal Drug Administration-approved (FDA) innovations
and advances in patient heart and cardiovascular care for the best
possible outcomes.
Affecting nearly 20 million adults annually in the U.S., PAD is caused
by a build-up of plaque that blocks blood flow in the arteries of the
legs or feet. Until recently, physicians treating PAD used X-rays and a
touch-and-feel approach to guide their way through the arteries to
the obstruction area.
With an advanced imaging tool called optical coherence
tomography (OCT), AHN physicians can navigate through arteries
more effectively and safely. OCT is the hallmark of innovative
catheter instruments developed by California-based Avinger
– called the Ocelot™ lumivascular catheter and Pantheris™
atherectomy systems – that are being used by the AGH team.
With the Pantheris™ atherectomy system, physicians can see and
remove plaque simultaneously during an atherectomy, a minimally
invasive procedure that cuts plaque away from the artery and
restores blood flow. AGH vascular surgeons can use the Ocelot™
lumivascular catheter on a complete artery blockage.
“Previously, the way we treated PAD with catheters was a bit like
driving down your street in the dark,” said Satish C. Muluk, MD,
Director of the Division of Vascular Surgery and Vice Chair of the
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at AHN. “You
might know where you’re going, but you can’t see everything along
the way. Using Ocelot and Pantheris, however, is like turning on the
Highmark Health and AHN are also partnering to evaluate cuttingedge diagnostic technology that creates a 3-D model of a patient’s
coronary arteries, allowing a physician to see a patient’s coronary
arterial blockage and how that blockage is affecting blood flow.
The Heart Flow Analysis uses images from a non-invasive coronary
CT angiogram that uses computer algorithms to assess the blockage
impact on blood flow. This information helps a physician chart the
best course of action for each patient.
AHN cardiologists said that the analysis has provided more
definitive clinical information that has led to an improved treatment
strategy for several patients. One patient dealt with chest pains for
more than a year, but two stress tests showed normal results. After a
HeartFlow analysis, the patient underwent a revascularization with
two stents. Another patient with a history of hypertension avoided
an invasive angiography after a HeartFlow analysis showed her
disease could be treated with medication.
“These examples illustrate how this innovative technology can
potentially assist cardiologists to improve their diagnostic skills
so that the right care can be prescribed to the right patient,” said
Srinivas Murali, MD, Director of AHN’s Cardiovascular Institute.
These latest advances are part of Highmark Health’s VITAL
(Verification of Innovation by Testing, Analysis and Learning)
Innovation Program, partnering with AHN.
“The mission of the VITAL Innovation program is to leverage
Highmark Health’s position as one of the largest integrated health
care delivery and financing systems in the nation in order to
accelerate the pace with which novel technologies and services are
made available to the public” said David Holmberg, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Highmark Health.
To be referred to a cardiologist or vascular surgeon, call
412.DOCTORS (362.8677) or go to AHN.org.