Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Coronary stent system now at MCG

Interventional cardiologists at MCG Health System have a new tool to help treat coronary artery disease.

Boston Scientific Corporation’s TAXUS Express Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System was recently FDA-approved and joins Cordis Corporation’s CYPHER Sirolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent as the second drug-eluting stent approved to treat coronary artery disease.

“This important technology is another tool in our arsenal and will advance our angioplasty and stenting procedures,” said Dr. Deepak Kapoor, interventional cardiologist at MCG Health System.

Coronary artery disease affects approximately 11 million Americans and is the single leading killer of American men and women, causing approximately 500,000 deaths per year. The disease occurs when cholesterol, fats, calcium and other elements from the blood build up in the inner walls of the coronary arteries, which supply oxygen to the heart. This build-up, also called plaque, restricts blood flow through the arteries and can lead to chest pain or heart attack.

Preventive treatment for coronary artery disease can include balloon angioplasty and stenting. In the cardiac catheterization lab, an interventional cardiologist inserts a catheter through an incision in the groin or arm and into the blocked artery. The catheter delivers a balloon, which is used to break up the blockage. Then a stainless steel stent-a tube of wire mesh-is deployed into the artery to keep it open. Relief of chest pain following this procedure would be immediate.

The new drug-eluting stents are coated with medication to help decrease the likelihood that blockages will return. Thirty percent of blockages return with the use of bare metal stents. The new drug-eluting stents reduce this incidence to 5 percent, says Dr. Kapoor.

The TAXUS Express stent is coated with paclitaxel, the active ingredient in the breast and ovarian cancer drug Taxol. The CYPHER stent is coated with sirolimus, an anti-rejection medication first used in kidney transplant patients.

MCG Health System is composed of three separate organizations: MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. The physicians of MCG Health System are community physicians and faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group, not employees of MCG Health Inc. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Medical Center, MCG Children's Medical Center, the MCG Sports Medicine Center, MCG Ambulatory Care 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 providing an environment for faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group and community physicians to deliver the highest level of primary and specialty health care. For more information, visit www.MCGHealth.org.