Volume 16 - Issue 10 - October, 2008
Clinical and Industry News
10/06/2008
Vascular Solutions Launches EXPRO Elite™ Snare
Vascular Solutions, Inc. recently announced its U.S. launch of the EXPRO Elite Snare in partnership with Radius Medical Technologies. The EXPRO Elite Snare is a unique one-piece medical device...
Vascular Solutions Launches EXPRO Elite™ Snare
Vascular Solutions, Inc. recently announced its U.S. launch of the EXPRO Elite Snare in partnership with Radius Medical Technologies. The EXPRO Elite Snare is a unique one-piece medical device...
Vascular Solutions Launches...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
SICP Section
10/06/2008
The Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals held the SICP 2008 annual meeting in Las Vegas on July 31-August 2, 2008. The conference focused on the needs of today’s cardiovascular professional. Cath lab professionals came from...
The Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals held the SICP 2008 annual meeting in Las Vegas on July 31-August 2, 2008. The conference focused on the needs of today’s cardiovascular professional. Cath lab professionals came from...
The Society of Invasive...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Discussion Group
10/06/2008
Multiple new and ongoing questions from readers.
Your responses are welcome!
Answer or pose a question at cathlabdigest@aol.com
Patients without Accompanying Family or Friend
I work at a university-based teaching facility in the cath lab....
Multiple new and ongoing questions from readers.
Your responses are welcome!
Answer or pose a question at cathlabdigest@aol.com
Patients without Accompanying Family or Friend
I work at a university-based teaching facility in the cath lab....
Multiple new and ongoing...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Clinical Editor's Corner
10/06/2008
Morton J. Kern, MD, MSCAI, FACC, FAHA
Your patient has atrial fibrillation, chest pain and a positive stress test with risk factors for coronary disease, and is planning to undergo cardiac catheterization. The international normalized ratio (INR) is 2.2. When is it safe to...
Your patient has atrial fibrillation, chest pain and a positive stress test with risk factors for coronary disease, and is planning to undergo cardiac catheterization. The international normalized ratio (INR) is 2.2. When is it safe to...
Your patient has atrial...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Commentary
10/06/2008
Lawrence A. Garcia, MD, FACC, FAHA; Amjad AlMahameed, MD, MPH, RPVI
Vascular closure devices (VCDs) provide simple, painless and reliable hemostasis following endovascular procedures performed via femoral arterial access. Their use has enhanced patient comfort and satisfaction, shortened the time to...
Vascular closure devices (VCDs) provide simple, painless and reliable hemostasis following endovascular procedures performed via femoral arterial access. Their use has enhanced patient comfort and satisfaction, shortened the time to...
Vascular closure devices (VCDs)...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Cath Lab Management
10/06/2008
Harold L. Dauerman, MD; Prospero B. Gogo, Jr., MD, FACC, FSCAI; Mitchell N. Rashid, MD; Kristin Gilbert, BS; Edward F. Terrien, MD; Jason T. Bradley, MD; Bina Ahmed, MD; Matthew W. Watkins, MD; Faye Straight, RN
Abstract
Background. Vascular closure devices (VCDs) improve patient comfort and decrease time to ambulation. However, VCD studies have excluded patients with high-risk femoral artery anatomy; we examined the safety and efficacy of...
Abstract
Background. Vascular closure devices (VCDs) improve patient comfort and decrease time to ambulation. However, VCD studies have excluded patients with high-risk femoral artery anatomy; we examined the safety and efficacy of...
Abstract
Background. Vascular...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
ACVP Management Corner
10/06/2008
Voncile Hilson-Morrow, BS, AS
Building a top cardiovascular program is not a matter of simply throwing open the doors and announcing to the world that you are providing these services. Climbing to the top or staying there requires keeping up with the latest advances in...
Building a top cardiovascular program is not a matter of simply throwing open the doors and announcing to the world that you are providing these services. Climbing to the top or staying there requires keeping up with the latest advances in...
Building a top cardiovascular...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Outside the Cath Lab
10/06/2008
Kirk Raboin
Reams of Data Spanning Months, Years, Decades – Managing Patient Information for Anticoagulation Therapy Is the Final
Frontier in Multidisciplinary CV Solutions
When Cardiovascular Services, the Pharmacy and the HealthCare Improvement...
Reams of Data Spanning Months, Years, Decades – Managing Patient Information for Anticoagulation Therapy Is the Final
Frontier in Multidisciplinary CV Solutions
When Cardiovascular Services, the Pharmacy and the HealthCare Improvement...
Reams of Data Spanning Months,...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Cath Lab Management
10/06/2008
Phil G. Regas, RCIS, RRT, CPFT, FSICP, MSM, FACHE
Time to Update Scheduling Methods
Whiteboards and schedule books have long been the mainstay of cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) scheduling, but with the advent of less costly PC-based systems, cardiology departments can now display...
Time to Update Scheduling Methods
Whiteboards and schedule books have long been the mainstay of cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) scheduling, but with the advent of less costly PC-based systems, cardiology departments can now display...
Time to Update Scheduling...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Clinical Images
10/06/2008
Jack P. Chen, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FCCP
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare angiographic finding with a female preponderance and is usually associated with the peripartum period, cocaine use, severe hypertension or physical stress.1 The markedly heightened...
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare angiographic finding with a female preponderance and is usually associated with the peripartum period, cocaine use, severe hypertension or physical stress.1 The markedly heightened...
Spontaneous coronary artery...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
10-Minute Interview
10/06/2008
Jennifer Titzer, RN, RT, RCIS
Write a 2-to-3 sentence biography that introduces you personally and professionally.
I started my career in healthcare as a radiologic technologist (RT). I cross-trained in special procedures and found that I loved invasive procedures. I...
Write a 2-to-3 sentence biography that introduces you personally and professionally.
I started my career in healthcare as a radiologic technologist (RT). I cross-trained in special procedures and found that I loved invasive procedures. I...
Write a 2-to-3 sentence...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
In My View
10/06/2008
George Fichter, BS , CVT, RCIS, MS, FSICP
Everyone has those moments in their life when they question the career path they have chosen.
As much as I have adored my career in invasive cardiology, even I have doubted my path at times. I believe the doubt comes from the nature of the...
Everyone has those moments in their life when they question the career path they have chosen.
As much as I have adored my career in invasive cardiology, even I have doubted my path at times. I believe the doubt comes from the nature of the...
Everyone has those moments in...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Your Path to Success: Expert Advice
10/06/2008
Kathy Rankin
In today’s healthcare marketplace, physicians are more time-challenged than ever, especially within the cardiovascular specialty. Patients are older, many have complex conditions and the shortage of heart and vascular doctors is affecting...
In today’s healthcare marketplace, physicians are more time-challenged than ever, especially within the cardiovascular specialty. Patients are older, many have complex conditions and the shortage of heart and vascular doctors is affecting...
In today’s healthcare...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
10/06/2008
Bernadette Longo, PhD; Patrizio Capasso, MD, DSc; Carrie A. Romine, CRC
Achieving vascular closure after diagnostic or interventional angiography continues to be a challenging process for catheterization laboratory staff and patients alike. Use of manual compression is time-consuming and often uncomfortable for...
Achieving vascular closure after diagnostic or interventional angiography continues to be a challenging process for catheterization laboratory staff and patients alike. Use of manual compression is time-consuming and often uncomfortable for...
Achieving vascular closure after...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
From the Ground Up
10/06/2008
Barbara J. Dale; Tracy Justice
Barbara, in addition to your position as executive director of Bethesda Heart Institute (BHI), what other management is in place?
Barbara: Right now BHI has an assistant nurse manager for the admission/recovery area (ARU), and Tracy...
Barbara, in addition to your position as executive director of Bethesda Heart Institute (BHI), what other management is in place?
Barbara: Right now BHI has an assistant nurse manager for the admission/recovery area (ARU), and Tracy...
Barbara, in addition to your...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
In My View
10/06/2008
Marshall W. Ritchey, MS, MBA, RCIS
In this time of terrorism and threats of danger in all areas of our life, do we consider the possibility of sabotage occurring in the cardiac catheterization laboratory? Sabotage is a word used to describe when disgruntled workers damage or...
In this time of terrorism and threats of danger in all areas of our life, do we consider the possibility of sabotage occurring in the cardiac catheterization laboratory? Sabotage is a word used to describe when disgruntled workers damage or...
In this time of terrorism and...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Safety in the Cath Lab
10/06/2008
Ann-Marie McDonough, RN, BSN, MS
In an effort to improve patient safety and utilization of resources, hospitals continue to research and implement various types of information technology. In particular, radio frequency identification (RFID) has been gaining traction in...
In an effort to improve patient safety and utilization of resources, hospitals continue to research and implement various types of information technology. In particular, radio frequency identification (RFID) has been gaining traction in...
In an effort to improve patient...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Spotlight
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest talks with Gregg W. Stone, MD, Director of Cardiovascular Research and Education, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, Columbia...
Cath Lab Digest talks with Gregg W. Stone, MD, Director of Cardiovascular Research and Education, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, Columbia...
Cath Lab Digest talks with Gregg...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Cath Lab Management
10/06/2008
Osnat Levtzion-Korach, MD, MHA; Arthur Reitman, MD, FACC; Pat Jansen, MBA, FACHE; Susan Madden, MS
The problems were familiar ones: days were hectic and unpredictable; the staff was constantly juggling the schedule in order to slot emergencies and urgent cases between scheduled ones; cases were too often bumped or delayed with unhappy and...
The problems were familiar ones: days were hectic and unpredictable; the staff was constantly juggling the schedule in order to slot emergencies and urgent cases between scheduled ones; cases were too often bumped or delayed with unhappy and...
The problems were familiar ones:...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
10/06/2008
Ted Feldman, MD, FSCAI, FACC, FESC
This monthly column in Cath Lab Digest reviews important points of distinction in drug-eluting stents, from characteristics to techniques, to provide valuable and relevant information about this technology.
Dr. Feldman currently practices...
This monthly column in Cath Lab Digest reviews important points of distinction in drug-eluting stents, from characteristics to techniques, to provide valuable and relevant information about this technology.
Dr. Feldman currently practices...
This monthly column in Cath Lab...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
STEMI Interventions
10/06/2008
Sameer K. Mehta, MD, FACC, MBA
Two outstanding STEMI experiences are highlighted in the present issue of Cath Lab Digest. They have been submitted from hospitals in Ohio and California, and both demonstrate superb STEMI processes in action. Both institutions deserve praise...
Two outstanding STEMI experiences are highlighted in the present issue of Cath Lab Digest. They have been submitted from hospitals in Ohio and California, and both demonstrate superb STEMI processes in action. Both institutions deserve praise...
Two outstanding STEMI...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
STEMI Interventions
10/06/2008
Rajesh M. Dave, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Combining Mechanical Reperfusion and Pharmacologic Therapy to Improve Myocardial Perfusion
Case 2 of 5: Continuation of STEMI Case Series from September 2008 Cath Lab Digest
History of Present Illness
A 57 year-old male was brought to the...
Combining Mechanical Reperfusion and Pharmacologic Therapy to Improve Myocardial Perfusion
Case 2 of 5: Continuation of STEMI Case Series from September 2008 Cath Lab Digest
History of Present Illness
A 57 year-old male was brought to the...
Combining Mechanical Reperfusion...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
STEMI Interventions
10/06/2008
Christine Zirafi, MD, FACC; Jesse DiRando, MD, FACEP; Steve Neylon, RN; Carolyn Holy, RN, MSN
Parma Community General Hospital, a 348-bed community hospital in the largest suburb of Cleveland, has cut door-to-balloon times in half — from 119 minutes to 60 minutes — through an ongoing team approach. Physician champions from emergency...
Parma Community General Hospital, a 348-bed community hospital in the largest suburb of Cleveland, has cut door-to-balloon times in half — from 119 minutes to 60 minutes — through an ongoing team approach. Physician champions from emergency...
Parma Community General...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
STEMI Interventions
10/06/2008
Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Northridge, California
Northridge Hospital Medical Center, N...
Northridge Hospital Medical Center, in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, is a 411-bed hospital with two cardiac catheterization laboratories. The emergency department (ED) is a trauma center as well as an official ST-elevation myocardial...
Northridge Hospital Medical Center, in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, is a 411-bed hospital with two cardiac catheterization laboratories. The emergency department (ED) is a trauma center as well as an official ST-elevation myocardial...
Northridge Hospital Medical...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Cath Lab Spotlight
10/06/2008
Bridget Plummer, RN
What is the size of your cath lab staff and facility?
The cath lab at Frederick Memorial Healthcare System is a new department, approved by the Maryland Healthcare Commission to perform primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI)...
What is the size of your cath lab staff and facility?
The cath lab at Frederick Memorial Healthcare System is a new department, approved by the Maryland Healthcare Commission to perform primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI)...
What is the size of your cath...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
International Experience
10/06/2008
Dave Hartman
Earlier this year, Dr. Mansoor Qureshi and I were invited to provide interventional cardiology training at the Tahir Heart Institute in Rabwah, Pakistan. At times, I felt totally lost, as if suddenly thrust into a square dance. Everyone else...
Earlier this year, Dr. Mansoor Qureshi and I were invited to provide interventional cardiology training at the Tahir Heart Institute in Rabwah, Pakistan. At times, I felt totally lost, as if suddenly thrust into a square dance. Everyone else...
Earlier this year, Dr. Mansoor...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
Clinical Update
10/06/2008
Khiet C. Hoang, MD; Morton J. Kern, MD, MSCAI, FACC, FAHA
Introduction
Atherosclerotic plaques can develop in the early years of life and build up for years before they become clinically apparent. Often, an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the first indication of underlying atherosclerotic disease....
Introduction
Atherosclerotic plaques can develop in the early years of life and build up for years before they become clinically apparent. Often, an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the first indication of underlying atherosclerotic disease....
Introduction
Atherosclerotic...
10/06/2008
Cath Lab Digest
