Important Discoveries and Advancements
Angioplasty
Emory is known the world over for pioneering angioplasty, the less-invasive alternative to cardiac bypass surgery. The late Andreas Gruentzig, M.D., renowned for developing coronary angioplasty and for performing the first human procedure in 1977, directed the angioplasty program at the Emory University School of Medicine from 1981 until his death in 1985. The Andreas Gruentizig Cardiovascular Center is now a major component of the Emory Heart and Vascular Center.
Emory Angioplasty versus Surgery Trial (EAST)
Completion of the landmark EAST trial in November 1993 showed for the first time that percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is just as safe and effective as coronary bypass surgery, a proven therapy for advanced atherosclerotic heart disease. Many patients with multiple-vessel coronary artery disease whose arteries require revascularization (to unclog or partially replace arteries) are equally eligible for either PTCA or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), a therapy with proven clinical benefit. 
Improved Heart Valve
Emory heart surgeon John Gott, MD, pioneered a solution to a troubling problem with heart valve replacements. He and his colleagues specially treat porcine valve replacements with an agent that slows the calcification process and delays the need for further replacements.
Patching Tiny Hearts
Robert Guyton, MD, Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery and recognized as one of the nation's top surgeons, developed a revolutionary procedure to repair babies' hearts that incorporates a patch that grows along with the heart and which negates the need for additional surgery.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
Cardiologist Angel Leon, M.D., an expert in electrophysiology, was a key investigator during a three year old clinical trial to evaluate the safety and cardiac resynchronization therapy in 200 patients. The implantable system proved to help patients dramatically who have moderate to severe heart failure and has been hailed as the first major therapeutic breakthrough for heart failure patients since the development of specialized heart failure drugs. Dr. Leon implanted the first Medtronic InSync cardiac resynchronization therapy system in a patient at Emory Crawford Long Hospital, following recent FDA approval.
Closing Intracardiac Holes Without Major Surgery
In the past, many people with holes in their hearts have faced a lifetime of anticoagulant therapy or even open heart surgery in order to reduce their high risk of stroke. But now there's a new option for patients who have already experienced a thromboembolic event — a minimally invasive procedure using the CardioSEAL® Septal Occlusion System can now close a variety of intracardiac holes in about half an hour. Emory is the first and most experienced cardiovascular center in Georgia performing the CardioSEAL® procedure.
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In Research...
Coated Stents
Results of the landmark SIRIUS study of coated stents at the Emory Heart Center and 52 other U.S. medical centers has revealed a significantly decreased rate of restenosis in patients who received stents coated with the pharmaceutical agent rapamycin (a cytostatic drug that prevents excess tissue growth). According to one of the study's chief investigators, Emory Heart Center cardiologist Ziyad Ghazzal, MD, coated stents are expected to be FDA approved in the first quarter of 2003.
Radiation for Restenosis
Emory researchers are international pioneers in applying low levels of radiation to coronary arteries after angioplasty to prevent reclogging. An Emory team was the first to receive FDA approval to test whether beta radiation applied to the site of clogged arteries dilated by balloon angioplasty helped prevent restenosis in human subjects.
Angiogenesis
Emory researchers have been among the first to evaluate an experimental treatment for ischemic heart disease known as angiogenesis. The treatment employs growth factors to promote micovessel growth and thus improve blood flow to damaged (ischemic) heart muscle and reduce angina (chest pain).
Lasers for Severe Chest Pain
Emory was one of 14 centers nationwide chosen to evaluate whether creating holes in the heart via laser was the best treatment for patients with untreatable angina. The treatment, called transmyocardial revascularization, or TMR, creates new channels in the heart to facilitate bloodflow. Cardiothoracic surgeon W. Morris Brown III, MD is leading the Emory study.
Portable Heart Pump
Emory was among the first centers nationwide to test a heart pumping device that makes waiting for a new heart a little more bearable for heart transplant candidates. The pump allows patients to get out of their hospital bed and exercise, thereby improving strength and chances for a successful transplantation. The new device is designed to keep blood pumping throughout the body until a donor heart becomes available for transplantation.
A Pill to Alter Cells and Stop Heart Disease
A "v-protectant" technology developed by Emory cardiologist R. Wayne Alexander, MD, and Russell Medford, MD, has the possibility of not only inhibiting heart disease but of also reversing it. They are working to find the right drug compound to switch off a common group of genes that controls heart disease. They believe it will be possible to permanently alter and fortify blood vessel cells against damage caused by arterial blockage.
Intracellular Heart Function
Cardiac electrophysiology researchers, who study and map the electrical landscape of the heart, have been long hampered by how quickly isolated heart cells placed in a culture dish die. But Emory University cardiologist Samuel Dudley, Jr, MD, PhD, and his research team have developed techniques to overcome this problem — and they are working to unlock intracellular secrets of heart function, using gene targeting to manipulate mice stem cells into perfect replicas of human cell mutations linked to arrhythmias. The result could be a new model for the study of cardiovascular disease — especially genetic disorders — and offers new hope for innovative treatments and potential cures for genetic heart problems that are potential killers (like Long QT Syndrome).
Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Transcather Occlusion
People who are at risk for stroke due to the heart rhythm disturbance known as atrial fibrillation (AF) — and who can't take blood thinners to prevent the blood clots that cause stroke — may one day have their stroke risk virtually eliminated during an ninety minute out-patient procedure. Emory cardiologists are participating in a multi-center study of new technology, known as PLAATO (Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Transcather Occlusion), that uses a tiny implantable device to prevent stroke by eliminating the source of blood clots that frequently cause stroke in people with AF.
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