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| To read more about each procedure, please click on the title or choose the link from the site navigation. |
| PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale) |
| During Formation of the heart, two pieces of the wall grow to overlap each other to divide the upper chambers (atria) of the heart into right and left chambers. Before birth, the lower divider acts as a flap or tunnel which allows blood to flow from the right side of the heart to the left side. After birth, right to left blood flow is no longer needed. The two dividers of the right and left atria fuse to form a solid wall (septum). The septum is fused in 90% of people by 18 months of age. However, the dividers which form the septum do not fuse in 10% of people leaving a flap or tunnel which may open and close as right heart pressure changes. This opening (flap or tunnel) is the Patent Formen Ovale or PFO. |
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| ASD (Atrial Septal Defects) |
During fetal development, the upper chambers of the heart (atria) divide into right and left sides. In some, the closure is incomplete leaving a "hole in the heart". This hole or defect in the atrial divider (septum) is an Atrial Septal Defect or ASD. Since pressure in the right side of the heart is lower than the left side, blood can flow from the lungs directly through the ASD back to the right heart; re-circulation through the lungs again and again. This abnormal recycling of blood through the lungs is called "shunting". The amount of blood flowing (or shunting) through the lungs may be many times more than the blood flow to the rest of the body.
Shunting is an extra blood volume to the right side of the heart which can cause an overload of the heart. This overload can cause enlargement of the heart, abnormal heart rhythm, congestive heart failure, and injury to the arteries of the lungs. Increased pressure in the right side of the heart may reverse the direction of the shunt. Used blood without oxygen may dilute blood with oxygen levels in the body. Since the filtering function of the lungs is bypassed, stroke or brain abscess may occur if clots or bacteria cross the ASD into the left side of the heart.
AGA Medical - Please review this website for more information on the AMPLATZER Septal Occluder. |
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| Percutaneous Balloon Valvuloplasty |
| Narrowed valves can be opened by stretching, splitting, or cutting. In the early days of heart surgery, artificial valves were not available. Some types of narrowed valves responded to physical force to open the scarred edges during surgery. 20 years ago, techniques were developed to stretch open these obstructed valves with balloon-tipped catheters which were placed through small skin incisions in the groin. These treatments could therefore avoid open heart surgery in some patients. |
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| Alcohol Ablation for Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy |
| Alcohol Ablation for Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy is a minimally invasive alternative to open surgical myotomy/myectomy in severely symptomatic patients. The procedure involves the injection of ethanol into the septal branches of the coronary arteries in order to produce an infarct, death to tissue in that area. This infarction causes scarring with subsequent thinning which will decrease the outflow gradient of the ventricles. |
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| Left Atrial Appendage Occlunder |
| In the normal heart, an electrical system controls the orderly contraction of the upper chambers (the atria) followed by the contraction of the lower chambers ( the ventricles).
This sequence of contraction results in the efficient emptying of the heart chambers to provide blood flow to the body and lungs.
Almost every heart disorder can effect the electrical system of the heart. These alterations of heart rhythm are called arrhythmias.
Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia of the upper chambers of the heart which starts in the veins from the lungs and causes a “shimmering” of the atria and thereby the loss of atrial contraction.
Atrial fibrillation may be intermittent or persistent. The rapid irregularity of the atrium drives the ventricles at a very fast rate causing symptoms of shortness of breath, palpitation, or light headedness.
Most importantly, atrial fibrillation is one of the major causes of stroke. |
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| Carotid Stenting |
| Carotid Artery Disease is a major cause of stroke. The carotid arteries are the major blood supply to the brain. Vertebral arteries are smaller and feed the posterior part of the brain.Narrowing of the internal carotid artery is a major cause of stroke. When carotid disease is suspected, noninvasive testing is the first step. Carotid Ultra Sound (CUS) uses safe ultrasound to measure plaque amount, plaque features, blood flow velocities, and severity of narrowing or stenosis. Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) detects narrowing in the carotid and intra-cranial arteries using an MRI scanner. |
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| Migraine |
Not all headaches are migraine headache and it is sometimes difficult to decide. A classic migraine headache is a primary headache (not due to stroke or tumor) which is usually one sided, throbbing, severe, and usually comes with nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light or sound, or motion sensitivity.
CLICK HERE to register for the Utah Premium Migraine Trial. |
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| Trans-Cranial Doppler (TCD) |
Trans-Cranial Doppler (TCD) is a new test which measures brain artery blood flow by using safe ultrasound echo probes placed on the surface of both sides of the head. If microscopic bubbles injected through an IV shunt past the lungs to the left heart, TCD detects and counts each bubble as it appears in the brain arteries. TCD is not only the most sensitive way to diagnosis right-to-left shunt, it is the best way to quantify shunt.
3 months following the procedure you will have a TCD (transcranial Doppler) study, a transthoracic echo (surface echo) and follow up visit with Dr. Sorensen. Your medications may be adjusted or continued based on the results of those studies.
6 months following the procedure, you will have the same studies performed that were done at 3 months. By the 6th month, we expect that endothelialization and anatomical seal of the device has occurred. Based on the individual findings, medications may be continued. |
