News
First structural heart procedure at Hollywood Private Hospital provides more options for cardiac patients
Nov 09, 2022
Interventional Cardiologist Dr Richard Clugston and Cardiologist and Imaging Specialist Dr Philip Currie performed the first of a new structural heart procedure at Hollywood Private Hospital on Thursday, October 27.
Structural heart disease procedures are a comparatively new branch of treatment that cover a wide range of previously surgically treated or non-addressed heart diseases.1 This “technological revolution in structural heart disease management”1 involves catheters, that are passed up to the heart and used to deliver treatment devices.
Dr Clugston and Dr Currie performed a Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion procedure at Hollywood Private Hospital for patient Ann Littke, who had atrial fibrillation, and in whom anticoagulants could not be tolerated.
Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm caused by erratic electrical signals in the heart and affects a substantial number of the Australian population.
The aim of the Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion procedure is to prevent stroke caused by blood clots forming in patients with atrial fibrillation.
“I was on blood thinners for about four years and there were a lot of trips to hospital,” Mrs Littke said.
“I would get very anxious – I would think the worst when my heart went a bit funny”.
Dr Clugston said suitable cardiac patients would now have the option to have non-surgical, minimally invasive procedures as an alternative to open-heart surgeries at Hollywood.
“These minimally invasive interventions can achieve the same results as anticoagulants in patient with atrial fibrillation. For many structural heart procedures, surgery can be avoided and there is less bleeding, shorter recovery times and less pain after the procedure.2
Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Tome, said a new angiography suite, under construction at Hollywood, would help cater for the many patients expected to undergo structural heart procedures.
“The new suite will feature a 15-bed day surgery unit with an entry, holding bays and a waiting area,” Mr Tome said.
“We are also opening a new 30-bed cardiac ward.
“These developments are part of our goal to expand our comprehensive cardiac services, which include an Emergency Department, state-of-the-art facilities and technology and Cardiac Rehabilitation.”
1 “Journal of Clinical Medicine.” n.d. Www.mdpi.com. www.mdpi.com/journal/jcm/special_issues/Transcatheter-Structural-Heart-Disease-Interventions.
2 Little, Stephen H. 2017. “Structural Heart Interventions.” Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal 13 (3): 96. doi.org/10.14797/mdcj-13-3-96.
Interventional Cardiologist Dr Richard Clugston and Cardiologist and Imaging Specialist Dr Philip Currie performed the first of a new type of structural heart procedure now available at Hollywood Private Hospital.