FEATURED VIDEO:
You & Your Stent
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To help doctors recommend the best treatment option for each patient who had carotid artery disease, Dr. Beau Hawkins and his colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a tool that calculates the risk for complications from stenting, based on the individual patient’s test results and well as his or her age. Watch as Dr. Hawkins explains this tool and how it may be used in the future to help guide decision-making.
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When heart symptoms forced 85-year-old Ruth Garrett off the dance floor, she figured her life was nearly over. Her doctor sent her to interventional cardiologist Dr. Michael Chen, who successfully treated her blocked artery and got her tap dancing again. Watch as Ruth and Dr. Chen tell her story. (Video courtesy of Washington Adventist Hospital, Takoma Park, Maryland.)
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Timothy Henry, MD, FSCAI: Could Stem Cell Therapy Help Heart Failure Patients?
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A lecture by Lyndon C. Box, MD, FSCAI: My Artery Is Blocked? What Are My Options?
The SecondsCount.org Complete Video and Animation Library
Angioplasty and Stents
Balloon Angioplasty
This narrated animation shows how balloon angioplasty opens blocked blood vessels (© 2011 Boston Scientific Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Used with permission of Boston Scientific Corporation).
Benefits of Angioplasty and Stents
Dr. Bonnie Weiner, Saint Vincent Hospital at Worcester Medical Center/Fallon Clinic, Worcester, Massachusetts, describes how patients live longer and feel better after angioplasty.
After Your Angioplasty Procedure
This video has important information for patients who have undergone an angioplasty and stenting. Learn what you need to do after angioplasty and stenting to manage your cardiovascular health and stay healthy. (Video provided courtesy of Boston Scientific Corporation.)
Carotid Angioplasty and Stenting
This short animation shows how angioplasty and stenting open blocked arteries in the neck and restore blood flow to the brain, potentially preventing a stroke.
Dolf Bachmann: World’s First Angioplasty Patient
This video tells the story of the first angioplasty patient, Dolf Bachman. Dolf was 38 years old when he underwent the procedure in 1977.
Find a STEMI Hospital
Some hospitals cannot perform angioplasty. Dr. Morton J. Kern, Long Beach VA Hospital University of California, Irvine, explains how to find one that can.
Making an Informed Choice
This narrated video explains the importance of working with your doctor to review treatment options and minimize your risks. (Video provided by Boston Scientific Corporation.)
Stent Defense: Protecting Your Stent for Optimal Health
Dr. J. Jeffrey Marshall, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia, explains the importance of continuing to take protective medicines after a stent placement.
Stent Placement
Arteries opened with angioplasty can become blocked again. To reduce the risk, many angioplasties are accompanied or followed by the insertion of a stent -- a small stainless steel mesh tube that helps prop open the artery at the point where the blockage was opened. Watch this short animation to see how a stent is placed, thus helping to restore blood flow through a previously blocked artery.
Stents or Surgery?
You might not need surgery if you have carotid artery disease. Dr. J. P. Reilly, Ochsner St. Anne General Hospital, Raceland, LA, explains how stents are used to increase the flow of blood to the brain.
What Will You See in the Cath Lab?
Angiogram tests and angioplasty procedures are performed in special hospital rooms called cardiac cath labs. In this video, Dr. John P. Reilly gives you a guided tour of the cath lab, pointing out the equipment you’ll see and explaining what it’s for. (Video provided courtesy of Dr. Reilly.)
Your Angioplasty Procedure
This narrated animation illustrates how angioplasty is performed. (Animation provided courtesy of Boston Scientific Corporation.)
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Benefits of Cardiac Rehab
Listen to this in-depth presentation by Bonnie Sanderson, Ph.D., RN, Auburn School of Nursing, Auburn, AL, as she walks you through the education, support, and risk factor management skills provided by cardiac rehab programs.
Cardiovascular Care Team
Types of Cardiologists
Dr. Kimberly A. Skelding, Geisinger Medical Center, describes many of the specialties within the field of cardiology and the work of the cardiologists within each of these specialties.
Cardiovascular Disease
Coronary Artery Disease
When plaque builds up in arteries, it narrows the channel through which blood flows. When blood flow is restricted or completely blocked, the oxygen and nutrients your muscles and organs need to function are also restricted. And, when muscles or the heart that are deprived of oxygen are placed under additional stress, such as during exertion, you may feel discomfort. Watch this video to learn more about coronary artery disease. (Video provided courtesy of Boston Scientific Corporation.)
Platelets and Clotting
Dr. Gregory Dehmer, Scott & White Healthcare, Temple, TX, explains what your blood is made of and how platelets contribute to blood clotting.
Protecting Yourself
There are risk factors you can control, and some you can’t. Learn more from Dr. Gregory Dehmer, Scott & White Healthcare, Temple, TX.
Children and Heart Disease
Living a Normal Childhood
Dr. Dennis W. Kim, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, describes the efforts of pediatric cardiologists and developments in the field that help children with congenital heart disease lead normal lives.
Cholesterol
Determining Your Cholesterol Level
Understanding your cholesterol levels can be confusing. Listen as Dr. Kimberly A. Skelding, Geisinger Medical Center, explains the meaning behind the numbers.
Clinical Trials
Benefits of Clinical Research Trials
Dr. Samir B. Pancholy, Mercy Hospital and Community Medical Center Scranton, PA, explains the benefits of clinical trials.
What is a clinical trial?
In the United States, all medicines are tested before they are approved and sold. Learn more about this process from Dr. Ted Feldman, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston IL.
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
The Battle Against Heart Disease
Are we winning the battle against heart disease? Dr. David L. Brown, Medical City Dallas Hospital, provides insight on the progress made so far and the challenges that remain.
Heredity and Risk Factors
fSome risk factors are genetic. But as Dr. Kimberly A. Skelding, Geisinger Medical Center, explains in this video, families can reduce the risks.
What Is Coronary Artery Disease?
This narrated video provides an overview of the causes, symptoms, and treatment of coronary artery disease. It includes helpful animations that show how stents work to treat coronary artery disease.
Diabetes
Diabetes and Heart Disease
Diabetes increases your risk of heart attack. Learn about the connection between diabetes and heart disease from interventional cardiologist, Dr. Samir B. Pancholy, Mercy Hospital and Community Medical Center.
Diabetes Overview
Learn more about diabetes from Dr. David L. Brown, Medical City Dallas Hospital.
Exercise
Get Motivated
Dr. Kimberly A. Skelding, Geisinger Medical Center, explains that it’s okay to start off slow with a new exercise program. She has a few suggestions for making it fun, too.
Heart Attack
Amazing Progress in Heart Attack Care
View a presentation given by Dr. Mark Turco, Center for Cardiac Vascular Research at Washington Adventist Hospital, at a public forum on Capitol Hill, as he describes the huge changes in heart attack treatment and treatment costs over the past 60 years.
Call 911
Dr. Morton J. Kern, Long Beach VA Hospital, University of California Irvine, explains how to survive a heart attack.
Don’t Wait to Get Help
In this video, Dr. Mark Turco, Washington Adventist Hospital, stresses the importance of seeking medical care when something doesn’t feel right.
Healthcare Disparities
The Impact of Race and Gender
This presentation by Marcos Pesquera, MPH, Executive Director of Center for Health Care Disparity at Adventist Health Care, Inc. in Rockville, Maryland, addresses the role of race and gender in access to care.
The New World of Resource Allocation: The Need to Find Cost-Effective Approaches to Health Care
In this presentation by Brian Smedley, Ph.D., Vice President and Director of Health Policy Institute Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC, highlights the treatment disparities among ethnic and minority populations and offers suggestions for addressing the problem.
Heart Healthy Living
Lifestyle Changes
Dr. David L. Brown, Medical City Dallas Hospital, explains how simple lifestyle changes can have an impact your heart health.
Heart Valve Problems
New Approach to Valve Replacement
Watch this animation to learn more about a new, less invasive procedure for replacing the aortic valve called transcatheter aortic valve implantation or TAVI. (Animation provided courtesy of Medtronic.)
Problems with Heart Valves
This narrated animation shows how valves are supposed to function and what can go wrong. (Animation provided courtesy of Medtronic.)
Symptoms of Valvular Heart Disease
The symptoms of a heart attack and valvular heart disease can be similar, but the problems are different. Learn more from Dr. James B. Hermiller, The Care Group at The Heart Center Indianapolis.
Medication
Dual-Antiplatelet Therapy
Learn how dual antiplatelet medication therapy is used to treat patients and efforts to identify differences in outcomes based on race and gender.
Antiplatelet Safety
Antiplatelet medicines are an important way to prevent future heart attacks. Barbara J. Fletcher, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, gives an in-depth presentation about these medications and tools to help patients to continue taking them.
The Future of Antiplatelet Therapy
Dr. H. Vernon Anderson, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, discusses patient-specific anti-platelet therapy and its future.
Why So Much Medication?
Hear from Dr. Larry S. Dean, UW Regional Heart Center, about the critical role of various medications in the treatment of heart disease.
Risk Factors
Managing Your Risk Factors
There are risk factors you can control, and some you can’t. Learn more from Dr. Gregory Dehmer, Scott & White Healthcare, Temple, TX.
Stroke and Carotid Artery Disease
Stroke
SCAI Past President Dr. Jeffrey Popma interviews stroke intervention and neuro-rescue pioneer Dr. Christopher U. Cates about simulation technology used for training doctors to perform carotid artery stenting. For some patients, carotid artery stenting is a good alternative to an open surgery called carotid endarterectomy to open blockages in the neck arteries and prevent stroke.
Stroke Survival
Learn the two things Dr. J. P. Reilly, Ochsner Medical Center, insists you should do if you think you’re having a stroke.
Testing and Diagnostics
Imaging and Diagnosis
Listen as Dr. Allen J. Taylor, Director of Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Lipid/Prevention Clinic at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, explains to an audience on Capitol Hill the safety and value of cardiovascular imaging.
Watch an Angiogram Procedure
In this video, Dr. Mark A. Turco, Director of the Center for Cardiac and Vascular Research at Washington Adventist Hospital, Takoma Park, MD, performs an angiogram on a female patient with a history of heart disease in her family.
What Will You See in the Cath Lab?
Angiogram tests and angioplasty procedures are performed in special hospital rooms called cardiac cath labs. In this video, Dr. John P. Reilly gives you a guided tour of the cath lab, pointing out the equipment you’ll see and explaining what it’s for. (Video provided courtesy of Dr. Reilly.)
Treatment Issues and Developments
Black Box Warning
Dr. Joseph D. Babb, East Carolina University, explains why black box warnings may or may not have anything to do with you and your treatment.
Comparative Effectiveness Research
Dr. Ted Feldman, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston IL, explains the challenges involved in comparing the effectiveness of treatments.
Continuum of Care
Learn how interventional cardiologists make treatment decisions for coronary artery disease to provide best possible patient care.
Is This Procedure Necessary?
Dr. Morton J. Kern, University of California, Irvine, describes tools and techniques physicians use to make certain a procedure is necessary.
Making an Informed Choice
This video provides helpful information about the benefits and risks of angioplasty to discuss with your care team and to make the best decision for your situation. (Video provided courtesy of Boston Scientific Corporation.)
New Developments
Dr. James B. Hermiller, The Care Group at The Heart Center, Indianapolis, IN, describes new treatments on the horizon for cardiovascular disease.
Off-Label
The FDA does not prohibit the off-label use of drugs and devices, such as stents. Learn more from Dr. Ted Feldman, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston IL, about FDA labeling and what it means for treatment options.
Treatments in the News
Dr. Joseph D. Babb, East Carolina University, lists the three most important things to do if your treatment is mentioned in the news.