September 04, 2003

Genesis Heart Research Receives National Recognition

Genesis Heart Specialists Published in National Cardiology Publication

Davenport, Iowa - Heart specialists practicing at Genesis Medical Center are the focus of  national attention in the September issue of Cath Lab Digest. One article focuses on the day-to-day life of a high-profile research cardiac catheterization lab, while the other focuses on a research study.

"The Genesis Medical Center cath lab is well known to most large research networks in the country. Over 30 clinical trials are currently being conducted in the lab with patients recruited from over 8,000 procedures performed yearly by 16 cardiologists," says Cindy McGee, Manger of Cardiac Catheterization Lab. "The success of the research program in the cath lab is largely attributed to its relentless, and dedicated staff as well as to an experienced research coordinators team."

McGee's article "Behind the Scenes: The Genesis Medical Center Cardiac Cath Lab" addresses the day-to-day life of a high-profile cath lab that is heavily involved in clinical research. In her article, McGee offers a description of the operation of the lab.

The second article focuses on the use of anticoagulants during peripheral vascular interventions (PTA). "Based on our study, the use of bivalirudin, an anticoagulant, during peripheral vascular interventions (PTA) resulted in limited in-hospital serious procedural complications. This is compared to the historic use of unfractionated heparin (UFH), a less predictable anticoagulant," says Cardiologist Nicolas Shammas, M.D., Cardiovascular Medicine P.C. and a member of the Genesis Heart Institute.

"In this study we have shown also that smoking increased the risk of complications in patients undergoing peripheral angioplasty procedures and obviously, this is another strong reason to discourage smoking," Dr. Shammas says.

During the study, Dr. Shammas and his colleagues at the Genesis Heart Institute found the in-hospital serious procedural complications such as major bleeding, death, limb loss, emergent need for revascularization of the same vessel, stroke, and other vascular emergencies appears to be significantly less with bivalirudin compared to a historic control with heparin. "This data need to be confirmed in a large prospective multi-center study which is currently ongoing," Dr. Shammas says.

Genesis Heart Institute is a regional network of heart specialists treating patients from more than 12 counties in Iowa and Illinois. The Institute serves as a link between heart specialists and other physicians throughout the region, providing patients new advances in detection, treatment and management of heart disease. For more information about this clinical trials or other national studies underway, visit the Genesis Heart Institute Web site at www.genesisheart.com