Cayuga Medical Center Cayuga Heart Institute 101 Dates Drive Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 274-4590

www.cayugamed.org

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What is PCI?PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION

Randy Stark, Cayuga Heart Institute PCI Patient

What is PCI?Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, commonly known as PCI, involves techniques to open clogged coronary arteries when narrowings (known as atherosclerosis) exist, inhibiting blood flow to the muscle of the heart. When significant narrowings are present, not enough oxygen gets to the heart muscle and the muscle will not pump normally. Most of the time a patient will experience discomfort when this occurs (called angina). This can initially occur with exertion, but if the narrowing gets severe enough it can occur at rest. If the artery was to completely close, this often results in a heart attack.

By working from an artery in the leg or arm, tubes can be placed up to the heart through which liquid can be injected into the heart arteries to visualize these narrowing under X-ray (this is called cardiac catheterization).

Once a narrowing is identified, a tiny wire can be inserted passed the narrowing and a balloon or a stent can be inserted and expanded to open the narrowing and reestablish normal blood flow to the heart muscle.

In order to work in the heart arteries, your blood must not be able to clot during the procedure. You will be given medicine to achieve this. Afterward in order for the stent to remain wide open and decrease the risk of the artery narrowing back down, you will need to be on aspirin and another drug to prevent clotting (often Clopidogrel-Plavix) in addition to medicine to keep your cholesterol low.

Since November 2010, Cayuga Medical Center has been performing PCI both in elective and semi-urgent patients, as well as in heart attack patients. The availability of this service in our community has allowed our patients to get the best of care when it matters most.

The Cayuga Heart Institute continues to bring state of the art treatment to our community and has a strong commitment to the future.

For more information, visit the Cayuga Heart Institute webpage on the Cayuga Medical Center website at www.cayugamed.org.

Remember:“WHEN IT MATTERS MOST, YOUR HEART IS IN GOOD HANDS”Cayuga Heart Institute at Cayuga Medical Center– Where: The Center is You!

Cayuga Heart Institute Cardiology Team