Treatments Provided

Cardiac revascularization procedures

When medicines and nonsurgical methods can’t open blocked or narrowed arteries caused by coronary artery disease, revascularization can restore blood flow. We offer:

• Coronary bypass graft (CABG) surgery — Involves taking a healthy vein from another part of your body such as your leg to go around (or bypass) a blocked artery. Procedures include minimally invasive off-pump bypass surgery (beating heart surgery).
• Robotic-assisted coronary bypass surgery — Surgeons use robotic technology to perform certain minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting CABG procedures. Your surgeon will tell you if robotic-assisted surgery is right for you. 
• Hybrid coronary bypass surgery — Combines two procedures in one. The team performs coronary angioplasty and stenting to open some blood vessels and CABG to bypass others.
• Transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMLR) – Uses lasers to make channels in the heart muscle for blood to flow. It may be an alternative for those who can’t have CABG.

Catheter ablation procedures

These methods use tiny tubes (catheters) to apply heat (radiofrequency energy), cold (cryoablation) or lasers to suppress the area of the heart that’s causing abnormal heartbeats (arrhythmias). Catheter ablation may improve or even cure your condition, based on the arrhythmia that’s being treated. 

Coronary angioplasty and stenting

These catheter-based methods use tiny tubes and materials to open an artery blocked by plaque (fatty substance). They’re also used to restore blood flow after a heart attack. Procedures include:

• Balloon angioplasty – Also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). It uses a catheter with a tiny balloon to push plaque against artery walls.
• Stenting – A wire mesh tube (stent) may be placed in the narrowed area to hold the artery open and prevent future blockages.

Implantable cardiac devices

These tiny, battery-operated devices, which are placed under the skin of your chest, connect to your heart with thin wires (leads). They send electrical signals to your heart to help control your heartbeat. Devices include:

• Pacemakers – Control a slow heartbeat.
• Cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) – Correct a fast heartbeat.
• Biventricular pacemakers (cardiac resynchronization therapy) –Treat heart failure, these make your heart’s chambers beat in synchronization to improve pumping function.
• PeaceHealth offers the latest in technology, including leadless and MRI-compatible pacemakers. 

Structural heart procedures

Heart specialists at PeaceHealth can repair all areas of the heart, such as abnormal openings in the heart walls or other problems. Types of structural heart repairs include:

• Left atrial appendage closure (WATCHMAN™) — Reduces the risk for stroke in patients with AFib. The device is implanted using tiny tubes (catheters), and keeps blood clots from forming in the heart.
• Septal defect repair or closure — Catheter-based procedures that deliver a device to close or cover holes in the heart.
• Alcohol septal ablation — Minimally invasive procedure that uses alcohol to shrink an obstruction caused by an enlarged heart muscle (cardiomyopathy).

Surgical ablation procedures

Minimaze is a minimally invasive surgery that changes the electrical pathways in your heart to stop atrial fibrillation (AFib). Tiny cuts are made in the atrium in a maze pattern and then closed with stitches. Electrical impulses can’t cross over the scar tissue, so they follow the newly created maze pathway. This restores a normal heartbeat. 

Valve repair and replacement

PeaceHealth offers a range of methods to repair damaged heart valves or replace them with artificial or human tissue valves. Your doctor will recommend the least-invasive procedure for your condition. Valve procedures include: 

• Aortic valve repair or replacement (Ross procedure) — Replaces a diseased aortic valve with your own pulmonary valve.
• Balloon valvuloplasty — Uses tiny tubes (catheters) and inflatable balloons to open a narrowed heart valve. 
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) – Uses tiny tubes (catheters) to replace a damaged aortic valve, without removing the old one. 
• Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) — Another catheter-based procedure that delivers a device (called a MitraClip®) to open a narrowed mitral valve.

Ventricular assist devices (VADs)

These surgically implanted devices help your heart pump blood when it can’t do that on its own. They can be used short-term during or after surgery, or while waiting for a heart transplant. They can also be used long-term for advanced heart failure. Types include left or right ventricular assist devices. When left and right ventricular devices are used together, it’s called a biventricular assist device.