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Augusta, Ga. -- Two years ago, Dr. Deepak Kapoor participated in clinical trials evaluating drug-eluting stents. Now as an interventional cardiologist and Associate Director of MCG Health System's Cardiac Catherization Lab, he is helping to prevent the progression of heart disease in area patients via the new stents, which were recently approved by the FDA.

Drug-eluting stents are the latest therapy to emerge in the fight against coronary artery disease, the number-one killer in the United States. Those with high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol levels and those who smoke or have a family history of coronary artery disease are highly susceptible to developing this disease, which manifests itself as blockages in the major arteries. These blockages restrict blood flow, causing chest pain and shortness of breath during exertion. If left untreated, the blockages could trigger a heart attack or sudden death.

Interventional cardiologists use minimally invasive techniques to treat cardiac abnormalities. In the case of coronary artery disease, conventional treatment involved inserting a catheter through an incision in the groin or arm into the blocked artery. The catheter would deliver a balloon, which would be used to break up the blockage. Then a stainless steel stent-a tube of wire mesh-would be deployed into the artery to keep it open. Relief of chest pain following this procedure would be immediate.

Unfortunately, in about one-third of these patients, the body's reaction to the foreign body would cause blockages to reoccur in a matter of months, necessitating another interventional procedure or even open heart surgery.

Coated with medicine to prevent the body from reblocking the artery, the new drug-eluting stents are a major breakthrough, offering a more durable and lasting therapy for coronary artery disease. "In fact, the use of drug-eluting stents reduces the incidence of reblockage to 5 percent," said Dr. Kapoor. "The result is that we are able to treat more patients more effectively, thus preventing the risk of heart attack or the need for other, more invasive procedures such as bypass surgery."

Physicians at the MCG Cardiac Catheterization Lab specialize in such minimally invasive procedures, providing preventive treatment for those with blocked or critically narrowed coronary arteries. In addition, a dedicated interventional team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to provide fast, emergency care for patients experiencing a heart attack. Physicians in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab confer with referring cardiologists, nuclear cardiologists and a cardiac surgeon in order to develop the best plan of care for each patient.

"At MCG Health System, our cardiology team offers a specialized approach to care," said Dr. Steve Schwab, Chair of the Department of Medicine. "And as an academic medical center, MCG Health System utilizes the most up-to-date knowledge in diagnosis and treatment."

MCG Health System is composed of MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty of the Medical College of Georgia and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Medical Center, Children's Medical Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by offering the highest level of primary and specialty health care. For more information, please visit www.mcghealth.org.