Curing the Heart Under the Wire

Abstract

A significant proportion of patients who sufferfrom heart disease have both these predisposing factors andother comorbidities, making their management more difficult.While medical treatment of heart conditions has helped toextend the durability of the native heart, many patients willeventually reach a point where invasive surgical manoeuvreshave to be considered.Fortunately, there is an emerging field in cardiovascular med -icine that can provide a new alternative for these patients: per-cutaneous cardiac therapies. These procedures are minimallyinvasive and are often associated with fewer peri-proceduralcomplications than a coronary-artery bypass graft (CABG), lead -ing to fewer subsequent morbidities.