Planning for Protected PCI
Your cardiologist may refer you to a heart team, who will decide if protected stenting is the best option for you. They will conduct several tests to examine the health and structure of your heart. Tests include an EKG and chest x-ray.
Since PCI is a catheter-based procedure, your procedure will be performed in the cardiac catheterization, or “cath” lab.
You will be given medication to relax, and the spot where the catheter will be inserted (usually the upper leg), will be numbed for your comfort.
You will remain awake during the procedure, although you may feel quite drowsy.
The doctor will insert a guidewire and a small sheath into your femoral artery. The appropriate Impella® heart pump will be inserted through the sheath and guided over the wire into the heart.
The Impella® pump will be turned on and will assist the pumping function of your heart, allowing it to rest.
Once the protected stenting procedure is complete, the Impella® heart pump will turned off and removed. The small hole in your femoral artery will be closed and bandaged.
You will be sent to a recovery room where you will be monitored for several hours or overnight.
Members of your medical staff will check your heart rate and blood pressure.
Many patients can go home the day after the procedure. The spot where the catheter was inserted may feel tender for several days.
Before you go home, your medical staff will review all the information you need to know, including when to come back for a follow-up visit, which medicines to take, and what signs or symptoms to look out for.
Planning for Protected PCI
Your cardiologist may refer you to a heart team, who will decide if protected stenting is the best option for you. They will conduct several tests to examine the health and structure of your heart. Tests include an EKG and chest x-ray.
Since PCI is a catheter-based procedure, your procedure will be performed in the cardiac catheterization, or “cath” lab.
You will be given medication to relax, and the spot where the catheter will be inserted (usually the upper leg), will be numbed for your comfort.
You will remain awake during the procedure, although you may feel quite drowsy.
The doctor will insert a guidewire and a small sheath into your femoral artery. The Impella® heart pump will be inserted through the sheath and guided over the wire into heart.
The Impella® pump will be turned on and will assist the pumping function of your heart, allowing it to rest.
Once the protected stenting procedure is complete, the Impella® heart pump will turned off and removed. The small hole in your femoral artery will be closed and bandaged.
You will be sent to a recovery room where you will be monitored for several hours or overnight.
Your medical providers will check your heart rate and blood pressure.
Many patients can go home the day after the procedure. The spot where the catheter was inserted may feel tender for several days.
Before you go home, your medical provider will review all the information you need to know, including when to come back for a follow-up visit, which medicines to take, and what signs or symptoms to look out for.
- After a Protected PCI with Impella. Protect II. Data on file at Abiomed.
- O’Neill et al. Circulation 2012 Oct 2:126(14);1717-27.