Nationally Recognized Cardiac Catheterization Services

Catholic Health is a leader in minimally invasive coronary interventions for patients with cardiac disease or congenital defects. St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® is recognized by U.S. News & World Report for Heart & Vascular.

Catholic Health continues to expand the hospital's award-winning cardiac catheterization services by offering care at St. Francis Heart Center locations across Long Island.

Areas of Expertise

  • Angioplasty in kidney arteries for patients with blocked renal arteries
  • Carotid stenting for patients with blockages in the carotid artery
  • Coronary artery angioplasty and stent placement
  • Diagnosis of blocked coronary and peripheral artery
  • Device closure techniques to repair congenital heart defects, such as patent foramen ovale and atrial septal defects
  • Peripheral vascular stenting for patients with disease in their legs

A coronary angioplasty uses a catheter to open or clear a blocked artery. This procedure is a far less invasive alternative for clearing a coronary artery blockage than open-heart surgery.

Cardiac catheterization allows a cardiologist to assess the heart’s function and evaluate the cardiac valves and the coronary arteries. The procedure involves guiding a thin catheter through vessels in the legs or arm into the coronary arteries. Once in the coronary arteries, the physician releases a contrast agent, and specialized imaging equipment traces its path to obtain information about blood flow and vessel function.

This procedure takes about a half-hour under local or general anesthesia. Most patients are ready to return home about two hours after the procedure.

Device occlusion involves threading a special catheter through a vein in the leg to the heart and using it to position a small umbrella-like device to seal a hole in a patient’s heart. With faster recovery times and fewer risks than open-heart surgery, this technique is an option for:

  • Atrial septal defect—congenital hole between the upper chambers of the heart
  • Patent foramen ovale (PFO)—defect that occurs when a flap in the wall of the heart fails to close naturally

Stents are flexible mesh coils inserted in an artery immediately following coronary angioplasty. This helps keep the artery open and reduce scar tissue development at the angioplasty site, also known as restenosis. Stents are often coated with drugs that help to prevent restenosis.

St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® uses the most innovative technology to treat pulmonary embolisms.

Inari Medical FlowTriever. Mechanical thrombectomy device used for the treatment of a pulmonary embolism. Performed in a cardiac catheterization lab, our interventional cardiology experts safely and effectively remove large clots from the pulmonary arteries without the need for thrombolytic drugs.

EKOS. Interventional device that uses ultrasound and medications to dissolve blood clots.

Our Team & Precision Angioplasty Approach

At St. Francis Heart Center, there's no guesswork in our angioplasty procedures. We greatly improve outcomes and reduce the possibility of a recurrence of arterial blockage. Our heart and vascular team includes board-certified cardiothoracic surgeons, anesthesiologists, perfusionists and specially trained nurses who are experts in interventional cardiology. 

A coronary angioplasty, also known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), uses a catheter to open a blocked artery. Precision angioplasty refers to PCIs guided by 3D intravascular imaging to place the stent as precisely as possible. Necessary length and diameter are customized to the exact millimeter.

3D intravascular imaging sets Catholic Health apart. We don't use the more commonly performed 2D intravascular imaging that requires estimating the placement and length of each stent.

Find a Doctor

Catholic Health interventional cardiology specialists provide care across Long Island.

Interventional Cardiology Locations

St. Francis Hospital exterior

St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center®

Roslyn, NY Hospital Heart Center

Location

St. Francis Heart Center at Good Samaritan University Hospital

West Islip, NY Heart Center

Location

St. Francis Heart Center at Mercy Hospital

Rockville Centre, NY Heart Center

Location

St. Francis Heart Center at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital

Smithtown, NY Heart Center

Location

St. Francis Heart Center at St. Joseph Hospital

Bethpage, NY Heart Center