Emergency Angioplasty Approved

Norwalk Hospital, in a joint application with St. Vincent's Medical Center, has received approval to perform emergency (primary) angioplasty, Geoffrey Cole, president and CEO, of Norwalk Hospital, and Susan Davis, president and CEO of St. Vincent's Medical Center, announced.

The Connecticut Office of Health Care Access has approved the Certificate of Need application that Norwalk Hospital filed in collaboration with St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport to perform emergency angioplasty at Norwalk Hospital.  Mr. Cole said that Norwalk Hospital is very pleased that it will be able to offer local residents timely access to the nationally recognized standard of care for people suffering from an acute heart attack.

"Primary angioplasty is a procedure in which the interventional cardiologist opens clogged arteries with tiny balloon-type devices in order to restore blood flow," explained Dr. Charles Augenbraun, chief of cardiology at Norwalk Hospital. 

Performing emergency angioplasty within 90 minutes of arrival at the hospital has proven to be the most effective intervention in saving lives and minimizing heart damage for people suffering from an acute heart attack, he explained.

St. Vincent's Medical Center has long been the principal destination for Norwalk Hospital patients requiring transfer for emergency angioplasty or other cardiac services.  Based on the success of the existing relationship, St. Vincent's will serve as the primary surgical back-up for the Norwalk Hospital emergency angioplasty program.  St. Vincent's in nationally recognized as one of the leading centers for open heart surgery in the nation.

According to Mr. Cole, an emergency angioplasty program in Norwalk will strengthen the cardiac and vascular services offered through the David and Phyllis Komansky Cardiac and Vascular Center.  This Center includes an angiography suite for interventional radiology, a state-of-the-art cardiac and vascular laboratory, a sixty-four slice CT scanner, which enables a non-invasive diagnostic exam to assess coronary artery disease, as well as other innovative equipment and a resource center for patient education.  

Norwalk Hospital currently offers a diagnostic cardiac catheterization to diagnose blockages in coronary arteries, cardiac ablation to repair irregular heart rhythms, implantation of pacemaker devices to maintain and regulate heart rhythm and implantation of defibrillator devices to automatically terminate and correct life threatening arrhythmias.  The hospital also provides antioplasty for peripheral arterial disease.  These services complement other extensive diagnostic, prevention and treatment services. 

"We are very pleased with the decision of the Office of Health Care Access and we are grateful for the tremendous support we have received from our community, our public officials, and the trustees, physicians, staff and volunteers from Norwalk Hospital and St. Vincent's Medical Center," Mr. Cole added.