b'22 2021 I N N O V A T I V E T E C H N O L O G Y A N D P R O C E D U R E S | E X P E R T C A R E | W E A R E H E R EHigh-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)Concord Hospital Cardiovascular Institute has developed a coordinated program designed for coronary artery disease patients who pose too high a risk for traditional heart surgery. For many high-risk patients, the program off ers renewed quality of life, instead of worsening chest discomfort, shortness of breath, fatigue and heart failure.The PCI program brings various cardiac specialists together to review options for patients and discuss complex high-risk interventional procedures, or CHIP.This program is for patients who have basically been told You dont have an option. You are too high-risk or you are too sick for surgery, said Dr. Shahab Moossavi of Concord Hospital Cardiology.Percutaneous procedures are minimally invasive techniques performed through small incisions in the skin, not traditional open surgery. Dr. Moossavi built the program at Concord Hospital, assembling specialists in a team that includes interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, primary Shahab Moossavi, MD, FACC cardiologists, nursing and a program coordinator.Coronary artery disease blocks arteries that carry blood to the heart muscle, preventing the heart from pumping properly. Patients might not qualify for traditional surgery because factors that include advanced age; a history of stroke, diabetes or kidney disease; previous open-heart surgery; prior radiation treatment to the chest; a risk of bleeding; or kidney disease.The team reviews how the risk factors might aff ect a minimally invasive procedure then decides on a plan for appropriate patients. For some CHIP procedures, called PCI, high-risk PCI or protected PCI, specialists thread tiny pumps into the heart to maintain blood fl ow while they unblock coronary arteries or perform other repairs. Other CHIP procedures include atherectomy, in which plaque is shaved from the blood vessel wall; inserting stents in complex cases to keep blood vessels open; or creating larger access for instruments to address blockages in multiple blood vessels.Other cardiac centers also have skilled providers, Dr. Moossavi said, but Concord Hospital Cardiovascular Institute stands apart because of the comprehensive nature of its program.The beauty of what we have here is that we have built a program that integrates multiple specialties, he said. The programs growing reputation attracts patients from throughout the region for care or second opinions. One patient traveled to Concord Hospital for care from upstate New York after learning of the program.In PCI procedures, patients benefi t from a less invasive approach entailing much shorter recovery time, fewer medications and less chance of complications associated with major surgery. Most patients stay a night or two in the Hospital.'