OHSU Hospitals & Clinics OHSU Comments on Balloon Angioplasty:
Oregon Health & Science University is Oregon’s only academic medical center. OHSU is a respected regional resource because of the knowledge, expertise and leading-edge medical technology that is available at OHSU Hospital, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, and their numerous clinics and specialized centers. Doctors from throughout Oregon refer patients to OHSU when the necessary level of care or expertise is not available closer to home. Because OHSU is one of two designated Level 1 trauma centers in Oregon, OHSU accepts many patients who are critically ill or injured. OHSU only transfers patients who no longer require its unique services and can be tranferred to a hospital that is closer to their homes and can continue their care.
What is balloon angioplasty (also known as percutaneous transluminal coronary
angioplasty)?
Balloon angioplasty is a specialized procedure in which a thin tube (catheter) is threaded through the body’s blood vessels into the heart. The catheter has an inflatable balloon at its tip. The balloon expands the blocked portion of the artery to improve or restore blood flow to the heart. Doctors can also insert expandable metal tubes (known as stents) through the catheter to help keep the blocked artery open. The balloon angioplasty relieves symptoms, such as anginal chest pain, and prevents future heart attacks. If a patient is having an acute heart attack, cardiologists may have to perform this surgery as an emergency procedure, which is more risky. Sometimes the blockage immediately recurs. If this happens, doctors must perform a more complicated open-heart surgery to repair the blockage.
OHSU expertise with balloon angioplasty
Patients and referring providers throughout Oregon recognize OHSU’s cardiac expertise.
Because of its emergency medicine expertise, patients who are having acute heart attacks
often come to OHSU for care.
OHSU results
In 2004 94% of the patients who had balloon angioplasty at OHSU were admitted to the
hospital from the emergency department. This is in comparison to 25% of the cases
statewide. Although the patients undergoing balloon angioplasty at OHSU are often severely
ill, OHSU’s results are very good.
OHSU results compared to other Oregon hospitals
Although other Oregon hospitals tend to perform this procedure as a scheduled or elective
surgery rather than on an emergency basis as is the case at OHSU, OHSU’s post-
procedure death rate (2.1%) is not significantly different from that of other Oregon hospitals
(1.4%).
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