Patient Care Services

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Primary Angioplasty
The Yale New Haven Health Heart Institute at Greenwich Hospital provides round-the-clock primary angioplasty service to patients experiencing acute heart attack. Highly skilled interventional cardiologists at the Institute are from the Yale School of Medicine and have performed thousands of these life-saving procedures.

Research shows primary angioplasty performed within two hours of the first sign of symptoms is better than thrombolytic clot-busting medications in limiting permanent heart muscle damage. Providing immediate treatment to restore blood flow through the coronary arteries lowers the mortality rate from acute heart attack by one third, studies indicate

During angioplasty, interventional cardiologists restore blood flow to the heart by inserting and inflating a balloon-tipped catheter into a blocked artery. A stent (small wire cage) may also be inserted to keep the artery open. The procedure is performed in Greenwich Hospital's state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratory.

The hospital's Emergency Department staff, which is specially trained to evaluate heart attack patients, works closely with emergency medical personnel to quickly assess and treat patients. Ambulance personnel can digitally transmit crucial cardiac data to the hospital, enabling Emergency Department staff to swiftly diagnose and prepare for the patient's arrival.

Christopher Howes, MD, a board certified interventional cardiologist, is the medical director of the primary angioplasty program.