2010 Performance Report:
Interventional Vascular Services.
The vascular system is the combination of all of the veins and arteries in the body. Veins carry blood to the heart, where the blood then travels to the lungs and is oxygenated. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart back to the rest of the body. Vascular disease occurs when blood vessels in the veins and arteries become smaller and hinder the normal flow of blood in the body. Skin, muscles, and organs can all be damaged when they do not receive enough oxygenated blood.
The number of peripheral interventional vascular procedures performed at St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana remained steady from 2008, with 585 procedures in 2009. We provide a full range of interventional vascular services, including innovative endovascular procedures (procedures done inside a blood vessel or artery), percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for peripheral vascular disease (a procedure used to open the blocked or narrowed femoral artery without a large incision), thrombolytic therapy (used to break up clots inside blood vessels), and endograft repairs of abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms (less invasive procedures involving a fabric covered metallic stent inserted through the groin). Patients benefit substantially from endograft procedures, which offer advantages over traditional surgical procedures, including:
- Less bleeding
- Less risk of infection
- Less tissue damage, scarring and discomfort
- Faster recovery
St.Vincent Heart Center continues to be a leader in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) endograft procedures. The volume of AAA endograft procedures increased in 2009 to 67. Endograft procedures account for more than one-third of all AAA repairs performed at St.Vincent Heart Center, and volumes have continued to increase since 2005. (Shown right)