Clara Maass Medical Center recently said it has begun offering heart patients intracoronary lithotripsy, a technology that delivers ultrasound waves at high pressure to break down the calcium in hard calcified blockages, allowing a better expansion of the vessels and safer stent delivery.
The RWJBarnabas Health facility has been providing life-saving cardiac care services to residents of Essex, Hudson, Bergen and Passaic counties since May 2009, having performed more than 2,900 elective percutaneous coronary interventions.
This past May, Clara Maass marked its 13-year anniversary of performing its first elective or non-emergency angioplasty procedure.
PCI is a minimally invasive technique used to open blocked arteries that deliver blood to the heart. An interventional cardiologist uses PCI to reach blocked vessels by threading a catheter through an artery in a patient’s wrist (radial artery) or upper leg (femoral artery). Through these catheters, balloons and/or stents are inserted and used to open the blockage.
In early 2021, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation requiring the Department of Health to license additional community hospitals to perform elective angioplasty services and ensure that those living in lesser populated areas of the state are still able to take advantage of these services.
About Clara Maass Medical Center
Founded in 1869 as the Newark German Hospital, Clara Maass Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is celebrating more than 150 years of service to the community. Conveniently located in Belleville, Clara Maass Medical Center is a 472-bed hospital that offers a complete continuum of care to residents of northern New Jersey.
“Clara Maass has high expertise in providing emergent and elective angioplasty procedures and is one of the most experienced centers in Essex County,” Dr. Elie Chakhtoura, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Clara Maass Medical Center and a member of RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group, said. “At Clara Maass Medical Center, our team balances exceptional experience and leading-edge technology with an extraordinary commitment to providing patients with a personalized plan of care.”
“RWJBarnabas Health performs more elective and emergent angioplasty procedures than any other health care system in the state, and Clara Maass Medical Center provides patients with excellent outcomes,” Mary Ellen Clyne, CEO and president, Clara Maass Medical Center, said. “We have an expert team of interventional cardiologists who provide patients with the latest approaches to PCI. Some patients can go home the same day and resume moderate-intensity activities within a week.”
In addition to Clara Maass Medical Center, RWJBarnabas Health facilities offering elective and/or emergent PCI include Community Medical Center in Toms River, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, Jersey City Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, RWJUH New Brunswick, RWJUH Hamilton, RWJUH Somerset in Somerville and Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth.
To find a cardiac specialist, click here or call 888-724-7123.
