This is the first time the procedure has been performed in Montgomery, and currently, Jackson is the only health care facility in the area to offer this new way of treating patients with advanced cardiovascular disease and angina. These channels encourage more blood flow into new blood vessels.
More blood arriving in the heart muscle means more oxygen.
More oxygen in the heart muscle means less chest pain. Less chest pain means a better quality of life. According to the American Heart Association, there are more than six million people who suffer from angina, a condition that occurs when the blood vessels bringing blood to the heart muscle are clogged or damaged and the heart muscle doesn t get the oxygen it needs. Transmyocardial revascularization may provide a whole new way of treating advanced cardiovascular disease, said Dr. Kwan, a cardiovascular surgeon at Jackson Hospital. Many people with severe angina have already undergone conventional revascularization procedures like coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty.