Coronary artery disease (CAD) is caused by plaque buildup in the wall of the arteries that supply blood to the heart; namely, the coronary arteries. Plaque is made up of cholesterol (fat) deposits. For some people, the first sign of CAD is a heart attack.
CAD is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, and every year about 735,000 Americans have a heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Surgery (coronary artery bypass grafting, or CABG) has long been the gold standard treatment of advanced CAD. Blood is re-directed with arteries and veins to increase blood supply to the heart muscle.
Stents (tube-shaped metal devices) placed by cardiologists are ideal to open up blocked coronary arteries.
Stents provide very good results in patients with less advanced forms of CAD, and are the best emergency treatment for heart attacks. They are placed using a non-surgical procedure known as angioplasty or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
HCR offers patients with multi-vessel CAD the benefits of both bypass surgery and stenting.