Interventional Cardiology

The Heart & Vascular Institute’s cardiac catheterization program, with more than 4,500 procedures each year, ranks among the most substantial in the Northeast.

“Science and research studies have consistently shown that high-volume proceduralists have the lowest complication rates compared with lower-volume operators,” says Dr. Jeffrey Hirst, an interventional cardiologist who joined the Hartford Hospital staff in 1987. “Our sole commitment to the Catheterization Lab also gives us the ability to organize and execute more complex procedures that the patient otherwise could not get in the state. And we routinely perform new cath-lab interventional techniques before any other cath-lab in the region.”

The Heart & Vascular Institute also believes in offering patients the least intrusive procedures with quicker recovery and a shorter hospital stay. That’s why up to 70 percent of our procedures are now performed using the wrist, not the femoral artery (groin), as the catheter's entry point. This represents a rapid acceleration of a national trend: In 2015, only about 30 percent of catheterization cases in the United States entered through the wrist.

The breadth of services offered by the Heart & Vascular Institute’s cardiac catheterization program is rare in New England, with everything from diagnostic testing to life-saving treatment for heart-attack patients airlifted by Life Star helicopter, a Hartford HealthCare signature.

What Is Interventional Cardiology?

Interventional cardiology is a type of specialized cardiology that diagnoses and treats heart disease using a thin tube called a catheter that’s inserted into an artery or vein in the wrist or groin and guided to the heart.

Through a catheter, the interventional cardiologist can place stents that keep blood vessels open or a device to treat a heart-valve disorder. Using the same methods, your doctor can also evaluate the heart – if it’s pumping properly and if the valves open and close as they should – with a test that combines X-rays and dye injected into the veins.

Heart & Vascular Institute’s Interventional Cardiology

Our Interventional Cardiology Locations: