Emory Report
February 9, 2009
Volume 61, Number 19


 

   

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February 9
, 2009
Research is hope for heart health

By Jennifer Johnson

Researchers at the Emory Heart & Vascular Center are conducting groundbreaking research to discover the underlying sources of heart disease and develop therapies to treat or prevent them.

In addition, Emory University Hospital and Emory Crawford Long Hospital earned the highest designated Chest Pain Center Accreditation by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Both Emory hospitals are the only accredited chest pain centers in metropolitan Atlanta to be accredited for percutaneous coronary intervention.

During American Heart Month, a look at how doctors and researchers are predicting, preventing or treating heart disease:

• Emory doctors Habib Samady and Jakob Vinten-Johansen are testing a new approach to angioplasty with an innovative technique for restoring blood flow to the heart during a heart attack.

• Javed Butler is leading the first comprehensive, integrated look at heart failure. Butler and his team have taken a multi-disciplinary approach by creating The Atlanta Cardiomyopathy Consortium, a team of investigators from cardiology, cardiac surgery, nursing, epidemiology, genomics and vascular biology.

• Emory University Hospital is using an innovative new medical device for the minimally invasive treatment of aortic aneurysms. Karthikeshwar Kasirajan is among the first few physicians in the United States and the first in Georgia to use the new device.

• A new robotic catheter system is being used at Emory Crawford Long Hospital to treat irregular or abnormal heartbeat where electrical impulses of the heart are abnormal. David DeLurgio says the system offers more precise movements and stability when guiding a catheter through the heart for radio-frequency ablation. Its remote operation also helps doctors reduce fatigue during long or multiple cases.

• Emory University Hospital is the only site in Georgia to study a non-surgical treatment option for patients with severe aortic stenosis. Led by Peter Block, Emory doctors are performing percutaneous aortic valve replacement as part of a clinical trial, comparing this procedure with traditional, open-heart surgery or medical therapy in high-risk patients with aortic stenosis.

To learn more, visit Emory’s Make Every Day Count at www.emoryhealthcare.org/departments/heart/heartstories/.