Non-surgical treatments for coronary artery disease include the latest medications to ease symptoms and treat blocked arteries as well as non-surgical procedures such as angioplasty.

Medications

Medications can treat atherosclerosis (the accumulation of artery-blocking plaque) as well as acute conditions such as severe angina or heart attack.

For patients who have already suffered heart damage, medical therapies can also prevent additional deterioration of the heart muscle.

Non-Surgical Procedures

Non-surgical therapeutic procedures include:

• Balloon angioplasty, in which a catheter with a balloon tip is threaded into a blocked coronary artery; once in position, the balloon is inflated to open the artery
  
• Atherectomy, the physical removal of plaque from the arteries. The procedure uses one of two different types of devices, both developed by Duke faculty members
  
• Insertion of stents, which are tiny cage-like structures that help keep arteries open once they are treated with procedures such as angioplasty

Research Advantages

Duke physicians are involved in testing the newest medications amd non-surgical procedures, such as latest generations of stents and angioplasty. They use those proven to be most effective to help patients.

See the latest heart clinical trials that Duke is seeking volunteers for.

Physicians

Physicians offering this service include:

• Bashore, Thomas M.
• Crawford, Lawrence E.
• Gehrig, Thomas
• Granger, Christopher B.
• Harrington, Robert A.
• Harrison, J. Kevin
• Ohman, E. Magnus
• Povsic, Thomas J.
• Sketch, Michael H. Jr.
• Tcheng, James E.

Locations

This service is available at:

• Duke Raleigh Hospital
  3400 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, NC 27609
• Duke University Hospital
  2301 Erwin Road, Durham, NC 27710