Welcome to the Cath Lab
Doylestown Hospital's cardiac catheterization program ranks among the best in the nation for performing successful emergency angioplasties to open blocked arteries during a heart attack, and is at the forefront of community hospitals in the diagnosis and treatment of other life-threatening cardiovascular diseases.
The Richard A. Reif Heart Institute of Doylestown Hospital has four Cath Labs (2 Cath and 2 EP Labs) with enhanced imaging capabilities and state-of-the art equipment that rivals and sometimes exceeds those found in major metropolitan teaching hospitals. The rooms are equipped with the most advanced technologies, including new digital imaging systems that enable the medical team to see the workings of the heart and blood vessels with unprecedented clarity.
What's Done in the Cath Lab?
- Diagnosing Coronary Artery Disease
Hundreds of time each month, physicians s at The Heart Institute of Doylestown Hospital perform diagnostic cardiac catheterizations to determine the overall health of the heart and coronary arteries. The cardiologists are able to visualize the location and extent of blockages or other problems, which in turn helps determine the appropriate treatment.
- Treating Coronary Artery Disease
Our experienced team of interventional cardiologists perform balloon angioplasty with stent placement to open blocked arteries and keep them open. This procedure restores the free flow of blood to the heart, preventing a heart attack. It is often performed at the same time as a diagnostic catheterization if a blockage in a coronary artery is found.
- Diagnosing and Treating Peripheral Vascular Disease
Blood vessels outside the heart can become blocked with plaque, too, interfering with the flow of blood to the brain, legs, arms, stomach or kidneys. Interventional cardiologists and interventional radiologists at Doylestown Hospital can diagnose and treat these disorders using our outstanding cath lab technology. Another procedure performed in the Cath Lab is endovascular graft stenting for abdominal aneurysms. The aneurysm must meet specific criteria but when possible, stenting is another option to surgical repair (Endovascular graft stenting is also done in Interventional Radiology.)
- Preventing Strokes
For certain patients with severe carotid artery blockage, carotid stenting offers a minimally invasive option for restoring the free flow of blood through the carotid arteries (in the neck) to the brain, preventing a deadly or disabling ischemic stroke. Doylestown Hospital is one of only a few hospitals in the area to offer this procedure.
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