Hospital working to bring coronary angioplasty to the Sault

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT AREA HOSPITAL

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Approximately every seven minutes, someone in Canada experiences a heart attack.

In many cases, this is caused by the buildup of plaque in coronary arteries, reducing or blocking blood flow.

A standard treatment for this condition is a technique called Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) - more commonly referred to as cardiac angioplasty or stenting.

Sault Area Hospital (SAH) is only one of two hospitals in Ontario with a full angiography suite that is not yet approved to perform this procedure.

To that end, SAH has developed a proposal which, if approved, will allow PCIs to be performed locally.

The proposal has been forwarded to the Cardiac Care Network and the North East Local Health Integration Network (NE LHIN) for review and the LHIN has already responded with a positive endorsement.

Ultimate approval rests with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Cardiologists routinely perform more than 850 angiographies at SAH.

This diagnostic procedure, like angioplasty, uses a catheter which is inserted into a blood vessel.

Dye is then released into the bloodstream and x-rays are taken while the dye is flowing through the coronary arteries.

The results of this procedure help identify the appropriate treatment options for the patient and in many cases, angioplasty is recommended.

This currently requires that the patient be transferred to another hospital and undergo a second catheterization procedure.

If the proposal is approved, the angioplasty could be performed at the same time as the angiography procedure - while the patient is already prepared and catheterized - in as little as an additional 15 minutes.

“We are working hard to bring this much-needed service to SAH and pending the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s approval timeline, our goal is to have the service is place by 2016,” says Ron Gagnon, SAH President and CEO. “In addition to the NE LHIN, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous support from our colleagues at Health Sciences North and from our MPP, David Orazietti.”

SAH’s proposal to perform angioplasty/PCI calls for a mentor partnership with Health Sciences North (HSN).

SAH would work with HSN on triaging patients, quality assurance, program development, clinical consultation and referral of complex more cases to HSN.

“Health Sciences North is proud to be a partner in this initiative to bring much-need interventional cardiology services to Sault Area Hospital,” said Dr. Grama D. Ravi, Chief of Cardiology at HSN. “We believe the submitted proposal is extremely compelling and we look forward to working with the outstanding cardiologists and entire team at SAH to improve access to cardiac care in Algoma.”

“I am committed to building on the tremendous progress we have made since 2003 in strengthening local health care and I fully support efforts to deliver angioplasty services at SAH as we continue to improve cardiac care for Sault and area residents,” said David Orazietti, MPP.

“This proposal would expand health care services in a more cost-effective way by eliminating duplicate testing and reducing travel costs for patients. Additionally, health care professionals at the Sault Area Hospital will be able to further utilize the existing cardiology suite by serving residents locally and creating an integrated health care network through a mentor partnership with Health Sciences North.”

“Angioplasty services would be a great addition for SAH patients, their families, our community and the entire region. If approved, the vast majority of these patients will no longer have to travel out of town for this vital and potentially life-saving cardiac procedure,” adds Gagnon. “Additionally, offering interventional services such as angioplasty will help Sault Ste. Marie attract and retain much-needed cardiologists.”

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