DMC Heart Hospital Completes Highly Successful Complex High-Risk Indicated Interventional Procedure Course

The DMC Heart Hospital recently completed a Complex Percutaneous Intervention education course, utilizing an unprecedented four live, clinically complex cases. Participating physicians included DMC Heart Hospital President Dr. Theodore Schreiber, vice President Dr. Cindy Grines, Medical Director of the Cardiac Care Unit and Chief of Cardiology Dr. Mahir Elder, Cardiac Catheterization Lab Medical Director Dr. Amir Kaki, and Dr. Tamam Mohamad.

The Complete Revascularization of Higher Risk Patients (frequently abbreviated as "CHIP") program is geared toward the interventionalist seeking to better understand complex PCI in the modern era. Presentations address treatment of left main disease, chronic total occlusions, long lesions, bifurcation lesions, "small vessels," and saphenous vein grafts. In addition, participants learn how to manage challenging patient subsets, such as those with advanced heart failure, as well as how to provide optimal hemodynamic support.

The course is a combination of live complex cases, hands-on workstations and didactic. DMC provided four live complex cases; traditionally, most accounts only do one or two live cases. The cases are displayed via live video feed from the cardiac catheterization lab to the education room.

This course educated interventional physicians on an option for patients that are too sick for surgery or refuse surgery. By training other Interventional Cardiologists on why, how and which patients are FDA indicated for supported PCI, more heart failure patients can be treated effectively, versus being sent home on medical management. Additionally, the data shows when treated by supported PCI, these patients stay in the hospital for a shorter periods of time, they feel better once they leave and they experience less readmissions.

"No other Complex PCI CHIP course has ever demonstrated four live cases as complex as the ones showcased on Monday," according to Theodore Schreiber, MD, President of SMC Heart Hospital. "However, it is not only the case complexity and the positive outcomes achieved, but the ability to engage the audience with questions, knowledge, charm and even some humor, which makes this course an impactful and memorable experience for all."