Cath Lab Professional

11/10/2025

🌈 Today, we honor courage: the courage to be seen, to be heard, and to live authentically.

In the cardiac cath lab, courage comes in many forms. We see it in our patients who face uncertainty with hope, and in our colleagues who bring compassion and strength to every case.

Today, on National Coming Out Day, we honor another kind of courage: the bravery to live authentically and to be seen for who we truly are.

To our LGBTQ+ colleagues, patients, and students: your presence strengthens our teams, your honesty inspires others, and your courage saves lives in more ways than one. You remind us that care and compassion extend beyond the procedure room. They begin with respect and inclusion.

Let’s continue to make every cath lab a place where authenticity is met with understanding, safety, and pride.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🌈💜💖

10/10/2025

🌟 Cath Lab Team, something big is happening for us!

We’ve never had this level of recognition and partnership before. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and CCI are joining forces to strengthen our profession, open doors, and elevate every member of the cardiovascular care team.

New members who join ACC’s Cardiovascular (CV)Team before the end of the year using promo code CCI will receive a waived application fee and the remainder of 2025 for free.

👉 bit.ly/CCIandACC

10/10/2025

💡 Stent Decrimping During PCI

What you’re seeing: a metallic mesh stent that scaffolds a narrowed artery after angioplasty. The yellow tip is the distal balloon segment. The green tubing is the proximal catheter shaft that connects back to the delivery system.

⚠️ What’s wrong here: notice the irregular, slightly flared struts near the proximal end. That pattern indicates stent decrimping, meaning the stent has loosened from its crimped position on the balloon before or during delivery.

Common triggers:
• Excessive manipulation through tortuous vessels
• Inadequate crimping pressure during manufacturing or prep
• Friction against calcified or sharply angulated segments

Why it matters: decrimping raises the risk of stent embolization, incomplete delivery, and arterial injury. Teams should inspect carefully and avoid advancing any device that shows displacement or deformation.

image source: Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai

09/10/2025

🫀 Bioprosthetic Heart Valve
🐖 A failing porcine heart valve that has reached the end of its lifespan and the new replacement valve being prepared for insertion.

Structural Valve Deterioration (SVD) refers to acquired, permanent, and irreversible intrinsic changes in the components of a bioprosthetic (tissue) heart valve over time, ultimately leading to valve dysfunction. It is the primary limitation to the long-term durability of these valves.

08/10/2025

07/10/2025

It’s not a matter of if, but when.
The future of the cath lab is robotic, and it's coming faster than you think.

While robotics are already proving their worth in surgery, they're now making waves in cardiology. Imagine performing complex procedures from a radiation-shielded cockpit, with enhanced precision and significantly less occupational exposure.

The next wave? AI-driven navigation and 3D imaging that will make robotic assistance a standard tool in our arsenal.

What's your take?
➡️ Are you excited or cautious about this shift?
➡️ What skill do you think will become most valuable in a tech-enhanced lab?



image source: Durand E et al. R-EVOLUTION study: R-One robotic PCI. EuroIntervention. 2023.

04/10/2025

💔 A blocked artery can take away breath, energy, and hope.
🫀 A coronary bypass gives the heart a second chance by creating a new path for blood to flow freely again.

For patients, it often means more time with loved ones, more laughter, more milestones, and more life.
For families and care teams, it is a reminder of how strong the human heart and human spirit can be.

❤️ To every survivor and every healthcare professional who makes this possible, your courage inspires us all.



source: Author: Bruce Blaus Blausen. com staff (2014). "Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014". WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2).

02/10/2025

Look closer. Those fine white strands are the chordae tendineae, your literal “heart strings.” 🎶
These papillary muscles and chordae tendineae keep your valves from blowing backward when the ventricles squeeze. Without them, blood would surge back into the atrium.

Drop a ❤️ if you love learning about the heart, and tag someone who would find this fascinating.

02/10/2025

Artificial Intelligence in Revolutionizing Healthcare webinar series.

🔓 Unlock the potential of in every heartbeat. Join SCAI and the Gulf Interventional Society on October 18 for module 3 of the Artificial Intelligence in Revolutionizing Healthcare webinar series. This module will dive into uses of AI in physiological assessment with FFR, iFR, and more.

Learn more and register ➡️ https://scai.org/education-and-events/events-schedule/imaging-dcbatherectomy