Holy Name Press Releases

Holy Name Hospital Now Offers Lifesaving Angioplasty Services

October 10, 2005

Teaneck, N.J.Holy Name Hospital has received approval from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services to perform primary angioplasty, the lifesaving alternative to coronary bypass surgery and thrombolytic drug therapy. Until now, heart attack patients treated at Holy Name had to be transferred to other facilities if physicians recommended emergency angioplasty.

"Being able to perform primary angioplasty increases our community's access to this important procedure," says Paul Mendelowitz, M.D., Holy Name's Chief Medical Officer.  "Heart attack patients can now get the very best care at Holy Name, and as efficiently and effectively as anywhere else. Timing is crucial because the quicker that blood flow can be restored, the smaller the heart attack and the better the outcome."  

Stephen Angeli, M.D, a Holy Name interventional cardiologist with 21 years experience in performing angioplasty, cites continuity of care as another patient benefit. "Patients who see a primary care physician, cardiologist, or other specialist on our staff won't lose touch with their doctor the way they would if they were transferred to another hospital," he says.

Angioplasty is the treatment of choice for people in the throes of heart attack. Short for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that widens narrowed blood vessels with a balloon mechanism to restore blood flow to the heart muscle. In most cases, a stent is then inserted to ensure that the vessel remains open. As practitioner skill has advanced and technological support has evolved, the procedure has become increasingly safe, with fewer complications.

A solid foundation in cardiac careAlthough Holy Name Hospital has not hosted its own angioplasty program before now, seven interventional cardiologists (the physicians who perform the procedure) are on its staff and have collectively performed thousands of angioplasties at other facilities, in addition to diagnostic cardiac catheterizations at Holy Name, where they are assisted by a highly skilled and experienced nursing and technical staff.

According to Dr. Angeli, the hospital has a consistent record of outstanding performance with regard to cardiac care in general. For two consecutive years, Holy Name earned a five-star rating for excellence in cardiac care from HealthGrades, an Internet benchmarking agency that rates healthcare institutions throughout the nation. The hospital offers a full range of cardiac diagnostic tests, inpatient and outpatient cardiac care, as well as an award-winning cardiac rehabilitation program.

To accommodate patient demand, Holy Name recently completed construction on a second state-of-the-art, digital Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and its original catheterization lab is slated for a total modernization in the near future. These improvements will make Holy Name's cath labs the most updated in the region.

Noting that care of the heart attack patient usually begins in the emergency room, Richard Schwab, M.D., Director of Emergency Medicine, says "Holy Name's board certified emergency physicians are experts at caring for patients during that critical first hour after arrival at the ER."  He says the hospital's record of administering thrombolytic therapyan injected drug treatment for heart attackhas been "among the best in the state" and that "our ability to expedite care is going to carry over into our primary angioplasty program."

The medical team that performs the procedure can be mobilized on very short notice, Dr. Schwab explains, with a maximum elapsed time of 90 minutes between the patient's arrival at the ER and "balloon time"that is, the moment at which the problem artery is opened.

In the rare instance that a patient should necessitate immediate cardiac surgery while receiving care at Holy Name, transfer relationships exist with Hackensack University Medical Center, The Valley Hospital, and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan.

For more information about the primary angioplasty program at Holy Name Hospital, call 201-833-3384