Coronary Artery Disease Program

Treatments for Coronary Artery Disease

Treatments for coronary artery disease range from medical management, to minimally invasive procedures to open heart surgical procedures. Each patient is different and requires a personalized treatment approached based on all of the possible options and other existing medical needs. Because of their association with an academic medical center, experts at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin are able to offer treatment approaches and resources that are not readily available elsewhere in the community. And, our patient outcomes in coronary artery bypass grafting (bypass surgery or coronary bypass surgery) exceed national standards.

Following are some treatment options for coronary artery disease:

Emergency care: If you are having symptoms of a heart attack, call 9-1-1 immediately. Quality emergency care is vital to opening blocked coronary arteries and restoring blood flow to the heart to prevent further damage. Read more about our emergency care, low door-to-balloon times and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU).

Risk factor control: Controlling risk factors such as smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, lack of exercise and high blood pressure can help reduce the risk of developing coronary artery disease.

Medical management: Several types of medications can help treat coronary artery disease, including:

Antiplatelet medications – used to decrease the ability of platelets in the blood to stick together and cause clots
Anticoagulants (blood thinners) – can also decrease the ability of the blood to clot
Antihyperlipidemics (statins) – used to lower lipids (fats) in the blood, particularly Low Density Lipid (LDL) cholesterol
Antihypertensives – used to lower blood pressure

Non-surgical interventional, catheter-based and endovascular procedures:

Balloon angioplasty, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)
Angioplasty with stent placement (coronary artery stent)
Drug-eluting stents (DES), including FDA-approved DES for patients with diabetes
Cutting balloon angioplasty
Atherectomy

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery:

Traditional CABG
Off-pump (“beating heart”) CABG
Minimally invasive CABG
Redo CABG
Transmyocardial LASER revascularization (TMR)
Endovascular vein harvesting

Cardiac rehabilitation: Recovering after any heart surgery requires a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program to help patients return to normal activities and stay healthy. Read more about our cardiac rehabilitation program.

Date: Apr. 30, 2012

Online Editor(s): Richard Petre