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Kelowna  

Surgery: behind scenes

It begins with the air ambulance touching down on the rooftop helipad at Kelowna General Hospital.

A patient has been airlifted from Kamloops, suffering a heart attack and in need of advanced cardiac care. 

Since the inception of Interior Health’s cardiac program in 2009, more than 5,500 patients have received life-saving coronary angioplasties at KGH.

And, now, the KGH Foundation has produced a three-minute video that simulates the journey a patient takes, from arrival at the hospital, right through surgery.

Minimally invasive, the procedure begins with the insertion of a guide wire into the patient’s wrist through a vessel that leads directly to the heart. A balloon catheter with a pre-mounted stent is then guided along the wire to the narrowing or blockage, which is causing the heart ‘attack’.

Once the balloon is positioned, it is inflated, which forces the expansion of the narrowing and opens up the vessel. The balloon is then deflated and withdrawn, leaving behind a wire mesh stent to ensure the vessel remains open and the heart receives its necessary blood flow. 

As the video rolls, a clock ticks, showing the time elapsed until the procedure is complete.

It's remarkably fast – an average angioplasty procedure at KGH takes just 47 minutes. 

“The whole team works incredibly hard to save time and open arteries as fast as possible when a patient is suffering a heart attack,” explains cardiologist Dr. Kevin Pistawka.

“They know that saving time saves heart muscle, and saving heart muscle saves lives. A team effort is essential.”

In a two-year study from 2010 to 2012, 2,755 lives were saved by angioplasty procedures at KGH, hitting a record low 3.9 per cent mortality rate compared to B.C.’s average of 5.5 per cent. 

The Interior Health cardiac program supports educational, diagnostic and treatment programs serving the entire Interior region of B.C., providing more than 600 open-heart procedures a year.

The KGH Foundation is currently raising $12 million in support of cardiac and other surgical procedures at the new Interior Heart & Surgical Centre.

To get involved, visit www.bealifesaver.net.



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