Interventional Cardiology

Heart Attack Treatment and Prevention

Interventional cardiologists at the Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute offer a broad array of high-quality services unique in our area. They specialize in treating patients who arrive in the early stages of a heart attack and excel in caring for acutely ill patients.

Our experts perform a high volume of emergency percutaneous coronary interventions for STEMI (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, commonly called a heart attack). Surgeons, advanced practice providers, nurses, technicians, and other specialists work together to give patients the best, most comprehensive care to help them achieve an optimal recovery.

Our physicians performed the first outpatient cardiac catheterization in New England and were among the first in the United States to perform angioplasty and rotational atherectomies and to insert stents.

Interventional Cardiology Programs

We are pioneers in the development of surgeries to diagnose and treat heart conditions as well as in many current techniques, strategies, and tools used to perform catheterizations. These advances have made the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease easier, safer, more accurate, and more effective.

Cardiac catheterization is used for therapeutic as well as diagnostic purposes. Interventional cardiology procedures include:

• Angioplasty, atherectomy, and stenting of coronary artery blockages
• Closure of congenital heart defects, including atrial septal defects and patent foramen ovale that may cause stroke
• CardioMEMS pulmonary artery pressure sensor implantation
• Balloon valvuloplasty to treat stenotic heart valves
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Transcatheter mitral valve repair
• Left atrial appendage closure
• Vascular procedures, including carotid, renal, and mesenteric stenting; endovascular aortic repair (EVAR); lower extremity endovascular procedures for claudication and critical limb ischemia; catheter-directed therapy for ileofemoral deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism; venous ablation for venous insufficiency; and more

Our Facilities

We treat patients in four catheterization labs each at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital, a 16-bed procedural care unit at The Miriam Hospital, and noninvasive echocardiography and vascular laboratories. Rhode Island Hospital has two state-of-the-art hybrid operating units that have cardiac catheterization labs within them.

Newly Reopened Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Rhode Island Hospital

Rhode Island Hospital’s reopened Cardiac Catheterization Lab (CCL) sets a new standard in cardiac care with state-of-the-art technology. The facility dramatically reduces radiation exposure and the need for intravenous contrast dye, making cardiac procedures safer for patients. Strategically located just steps from the hospital’s 24/7 emergency department, the lab ensures heart attack patients receive the fastest diagnosis and treatment possible. With this new lab, Rhode Island Hospital reinforces its commitment to providing advanced, efficient, and safer cardiac care to the community. 

“The placement of the lab was very forward thinking and allows better coordination of care between the ED, CCL, operating rooms and CCU [coronary care unit],” said Dawn Abbott, MD, Lifespan’s director of interventional cardiology and the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at the Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute.

Cardiovascular Research

Our physicians’ research includes investigation of new preventive medical therapies, balloons, stents, and other interventional devices for coronary and non-coronary vascular disease and structural heart disease; adjunctive pharmacologic therapies for acute coronary syndromes; and new therapies to improve the treatment of heart failure and cardiogenic shock, the most serious consequence of a heart attack.