WINTHROP CARDIOLOGIST USES NEW, MINIMALLY INVASIVE PROCEDURE TO TREAT LIFE-THREATENING HEART CONDITION
Mineola, NY – Srihari Naidu, MD, Director of Winthrop-University Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Center and a prominent interventional cardiologist with expertise in structural heart disease, has introduced the use of alcohol septal ablation to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) at Winthrop, a significant addition to the Hospital’s armamentarium of progressive cardiac care treatment options. HCM, the most common cause of heart-related sudden death in people under 30, may present at any age and afflicts an estimated 600,000 Americans. It is characterized by excessive thickening of the heart muscle, which obstructs effective blood flow out of the heart. Common symptoms include difficulty breathing, chest pain, fatigue, lightheadedness and/or fainting, palpitations and even heart failure. A genetic disease that often appears without obvious family history, HCM can lead to sudden collapse and even death. Martin Robinson, 50, of Center Moriches, was diagnosed with HCM four years ago, when he couldn’t walk more than 100 feet without needing to sit and catch his breath. “I was constantly winded,” he said. “I couldn’t keep up with my 94-year-old aunt.” For Mr. Robinson, traditional medical therapy had not been successful in alleviating the obstruction and relaxing the heart. Other treatment options included the implantation of a pacemaker to change the pattern of the heart’s contraction and help reduce the outflow obstruction, and open heart surgery, during which the surgeon would physically remove an area of the overgrown heart muscle. “I wasn’t convinced a pacemaker would work, and I wasn’t ready for open heart surgery,” he said. “When I heard about alcohol septal ablation, I was excited to learn of a new approach to treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that is a less invasive alternative to surgery, yet which yields similar results.” Mr. Robinson did his homework. “As a pharmacist, I deal with a lot of doctors,” he said. “I needed to find the right doctor for me, so I met with several interventional cardiologists, and selected Dr. Naidu because he took the time to explain everything in detail. He answered every question I had even before I asked, and said he would do the procedure only if he was absolutely sure I met all the criteria. He reviewed my medical history very carefully before agreeing to go ahead with it.” Used with patients who have severe symptoms, but who – like Mr. Robinson – have not responded to optimal medical therapies, alcohol septal ablation involves the precisely controlled injection of a small amount of pure alcohol into the thickened septum – the dividing wall between the right and left sides of the heart. The alcohol destroys some of the excessive heart muscle cells on the septum, replacing them with thin scar tissue, which improves the blood flow out of the heart. “Deciding how much alcohol to inject – enough to relieve the symptoms, but not cause complications – is crucial,” said Dr. Naidu. “We constantly monitor the patient because the procedure requires extraordinary precision for success.” Success is what Dr. Naidu and his team achieved for Mr. Robinson, who reported that he felt better almost immediately. “As soon as I got out of bed and started walking, I could feel the difference,” he said. “I wasn’t always trying to catch my breath. I could breathe normally. Thanks to Dr. Naidu, I can now walk two miles at a steady pace. Before, I had trouble making it from the car to the front door.” Dr. Naidu, who introduced alcohol septal ablation at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Cornell Medical Center prior to joining Winthrop, has developed modifications to the procedure, which have been published in a series of recent medical journal articles. Winthrop-University Hospital’s Institute for Heart Care offers advanced diagnostics and disease prevention programs, as well as sophisticated medical treatment and rehabilitation, superior cardiac surgery and an interventional program known across New York State for its excellent outcomes. Winthrop-University Hospital is the only hospital in New York State with an overall risk-adjusted mortality rate significantly lower that the statewide rate for angioplasty in every three-year reporting cycle since 1999. Winthrop also ranked #1 for New York State for coronary angioplasty success in the latest NYS Department of Health report (November 2006 for year 2004). To meet the growing need for services, and to support the staff’s exceptional level of treatment, the Hospital opened a new 26,000-sq-ft Heart Surgery Center in 2004, featuring 26 telemetry beds, 22 intensive care rooms and four cardiac operating rooms. Additionally, the Miller Interventional Cardiology Pavilion includes the Cardiac Catheterization Center and a newly constructed state-of-the-science Electrophysiology Center. For more information about heart care at Winthrop, call 1-866-WINTHROP.
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