Rajan Patel, MD: Breaking New Ground in Minimally Invasive CV Care

New pharmacological therapy breakthroughs don’t just limit the rate of patients who need invasive care—they also often provide a smoother path to recovery and safety for those who require surgery or a procedure. In the case of cardiovascular disease, effective, minimally invasive options need to be optimized for efficacy and safety.

In an interview with MD Magazine® while at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2019 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA this weekend, Rajan Patel, MD, an interventional cardiologist and peripheral vascular interventionist with Ochsner Medical Center, explained where such medical and technological breakthroughs have most benefitted his fields of practice.

MD Mag: What is the current state of minimally invasive cardiovascular care?

Patel: This is a really exciting time to be involved in cardiovascular care, because the technology is developing so fast compared to, say, several decades ago. And minimally invasive therapy seems to be making significant technological breakthroughs every year.

These breakthroughs make procedures safer, they make them less invasive so patients can recover faster, and in some areas, they're addressing diseases that have not been treated before.

In which diseases or conditions are we breaking new ground?

In the area of heart failure, there are new medications that are being developed. In heart and valve diseases, there's new minimally invasive therapies to treat both aortic valve disease, mitral valve disease, and likely in the near future, tricuspid valve disease.

And for treating blockages or narrows in coronary arteries, the new technologies being developed will help make the therapies safer. For example, stents are often placed in narrowed or blocked arteries to improve blood flow. And patients often have to be on medications that prevent the blood from clotting easily after a stent procedure.

Newer generations of stents will limit the amount of time a patient has to be on medications that prevent the blood from clotting.