Treatment Procedures

Question 1

Cardiac Catheter Ablation

Answer 1

Flexible tube is threaded through blood vessels into the heart to destroy abnormal tissue that causes arrhythmias.

Question 2

Cardioversion

Answer 2

Brief discharges of electricity passing across the chest to stop a cardiac arrhythmia. Also called defibrilllation.

Question 3

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Answer 3

Vessels taken from the patient’s legs or chest are connected to coronary arteries to make detours around blockages.

Question 4

Endarterectomy

Answer 4

Surgical removal of the innermost lining of an artery to remove fatty deposits and clots.

Question 5

Heart Transplantation

Answer 5

A donor heart is transferred to a recipient.

Question 6

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)

Answer 6

A balloon tipped catheter is threaded into a coronary artery to compress fatty deposits and open the artery. Stents create wider openings that make the recurrence of blockages less likely.

Question 7

Thrombolytic Therapy

Answer 7

Drugs such as tPA and streptokinase are injected into a patient’s bloodstream to dissolve clots that may cause heart attack.