Top of the pagePrimary Angioplasty for Heart Attack - The Best Approach
Since the mid-1970's, Central Oregon has been a leader in cardiac innovation. Aggressive use of "primary angioplasty" - the use of a small balloon to open blocked arteries as the primary treatment for heart attacks - has been a central strategy here for nearly 20 years. It depends heavily on fast and reliable air and ground transport, resources readily available in our region. Research in part performed in the catheterization lab at St. Charles and published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2003, noted that this successful treatment, while clearly superior to other approaches, was still only hoped for in much of the United States. The result for Central and Eastern Oregonians is some of the best outcomes for heart attack patients anywhere in the country. All this in a hospital distinguished as one of the Top 100 US Hospitals with patient satisfaction scores in the top five percent in the nation.
A New Path for Angioplasty
More recently, innovative cardiologists in Bend have begun to
break new ground in the field of angioplasty. They have
pioneered the use of the radial artery (in the wrist) instead
of the traditional femoral artery (near the groin) as an access
point for cardiac catheters used in angioplasty. While less
than two percent of patients nationwide have angioplasties
performed with access through the radial artery, nearly
70 percent of patients in Bend have procedures done this
way. The advantages include increased patient comfort, reduced
incidence of post-procedure bleeding and complications, and
shorter length of stay in the hospital.
(See Outcomes Data)
