Persistent breathlessness after a pulmonary embolism, or a diagnosis involving blocked lung arteries that surgeons consider too risky to operate on, can leave patients feeling that few options remain. Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) is a catheter-based approach that is increasingly discussed as a non-surgical alternative for selected patients. This article explains what BPA involves, who may be considered for it, and how to approach the search for Pulmonary Embolism Treatment with confidence. What Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty Involves BPA is a minimally invasive procedure in which a thin tube, called a catheter, is guided through a vein to the narrowed arteries within the lungs. A small balloon is then inflated at the narrowed segment to widen the vessel and improve blood flow. The procedure is often performed in stages rather than all at once, with different areas of the lungs treated across separate sessions. This staged approach allows the care team to monitor how the l...
Coronary angioplasty aka PCI is a common procedure with excellent success rates. The in-hospital mortality following PCI is 1-2% and in the setting of acute coronary syndrome is 3%. Additionally,1-2% of patients die after discharge within 30 days. Two recent retrospective database analyses from the states of New York and Michigan Blue shield studied mortality after PCI1,2. The New York database included 135,000 patients studying in-hospital and 30-day mortality while the Michigan database had 92,000 patients analysing in-hospital mortality. I present these papers with the learning points so that we can improve patient outcomes. The findings Both databases showed a 1.5% - 30-day mortality after PCI. 30% of these deaths are preventable. Most in-hospital deaths were non preventable (70%). They were attributed to pre-existing cardiac conditions such as cardiogenic shock, left ventricular failure, co-morbidities etc. Most of them are emergency and high-risk patients. 30% ...