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- NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Announces State-of-the-Art, Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center in Washington Heights
- "Bad" Cholesterol May Not Be the Best Predictor of Heart Disease Risk in Generally Healthy Individuals
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- Columbia Scientists Study Advantages of Using Web to Tailor Medical Information to Patients
- Columbia University Medical Center Study Shows Stress Test Saves Lives of Patients With Chest Pain
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- Dean Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Elected Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Diabetics Benefit Less from Anti-Hypertensive Treatment to Reduce Enlarged Heart
- Do Heart Disease and Cancer Have a Common Genetic Link?
- Dr. Antonio M. Gotto and Dr. Herbert Pardes Awarded Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art
- Electrocardiogram Helps Predict Risk for Congestive Heart Failure in Hypertensive Patients
- For High-Blood-Pressure Patients, Preventing or Reducing Enlarged Heart Decreases Risk of Heart Failure
- For High Blood Pressure Patients, Preventing or Reducing Enlarged Heart May Decrease Risk for Diabetes
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- Genetic Medicine Program at Weill Cornell Receives Major Boost from The Starr Foundation
- Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke Studied in First-of-Its-Kind Series of Clinical Studies
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- Hot Flashes in Women Linked to High Blood Pressure, According to New Weill Cornell Study
- Is Garlic Good for Your Heart? A Review of the Evidence
- JAMA Article Looks at Data-Sharing in Clinical Trials for Heart Disease
- Job Strain Linked to High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease Risk
- Keeping the Beat: NewYork-Presbyterian Offers Heart Patients New Combination Defibrillator/Pacemakers
- Larger Waistline Is Linked to Increased Risk for Heart Disease in Women
- Left Ventricular Assist Devices May Improve Heart Function and Lead to Search for New Therapies To Obviate Need for Transplants
- Lovastatin Treatment Reduces Events in Patients at Varying Degrees of Coronary Risk and Reduces Need for Invasive Procedures
- Lupus Patients at Increased Risk for Atherosclerosis, Weill Cornell Study Finds
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- NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Physician-Scientists Present Findings at American Heart Association's Annual Conference
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center Physician-Scientists Present at American College of Cardiology's 57th Annual Scientific Session
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center Physician-Scientists Present Clinical Research at American Heart Association's Annual Conference
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- Physician-Scientist Urges Improved Drug Regulation to Ensure Safety of Non-Heart Drugs
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- Reducing Enlarged Heart Muscle Cuts Patients' Cardiac Risk, Independent of Lowered Blood Pressure, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Researchers Report
- Researcher Predicts Paradigm Shift in Heart Disease Treatment
- Research Shows Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Lovastatin Reduces Risk of Heart Attack in Healthy Adults
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Research and Clinical Trials
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Health Library
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- Angina Pectoris
- Arrhythmias
- Atherosclerosis
- Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter
- Biventricular Pacing
- Bradycardia, Heart Block and Bundle Branch Block
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Cardiac Tumor
- Cardiomyopathy
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
- Carotid Artery Disease
- Cholesterol in the Blood
- Congenital Heart Defects
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Coronary Arteries: Anatomy and Function
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Diabetes and High Blood Pressure
- Echocardiography (echo)
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) / Stress Test / Holter Monitor
- Heart's Electrical System: Anatomy and Function
- Heart Anatomy
- Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction)
- Heart Murmurs
- Heart Valve Diseases
- Heart Valves: Anatomy and Function
- High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
- Implantable Converter Defibrillators
- Mitral Valve Prolapse
- Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease
- Pacemakers
- Pericarditis
- Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Preventing Cardiovascular Diseases
- Rheumatic Heart Disease
- Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease
- Sudden Cardiac Death
- Supraventricular Tachycardia
- Syncope (Sudden Loss of Consciousness)
- Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm
- Vascular Disease
- Ventricular Tachycardia and Ventricular Fibrillation
- Vital Signs
- Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome
Clinical Services
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- Advanced Diagnostics
- Angiograms
- Angioplasty and Stenting
- Arrhythmia Control
- Artificial Heart Devices: LVAD
- Cardiac Electrophysiologic Studies and T-wave Alternans Testing
- Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Cardiology
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Catheter Ablation for Cardiac Arrhythmias
- Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (Grafting)
- Echocardiograms
- Electrocardiograms (ECGs), Stress Tests, Holter Monitor and Event/Loop Recorders
- Heart Transplant Surgery
- Heart Valve Repair and Replacement
- Implantable Converter Defibrillators and Biventricular Pacing
- Intravascular / Intracoronary and Intracardiac Ultrasound
- Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans)
- Off-pump Surgery
- Pacemakers
- Pediatric Heart Surgery
- Preventive Cardiology
- Preventive Medicine and Nutrition
- Robotic Heart Surgery
- Surgery for Adult Congenital Heart Disease
- Tilt Testing
- Transmyocardial Revascularization
- Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease
- Treatments for Heart Valve Disease
Alcohol Septal Ablation
Patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) have abnormally thickened walls of the heart's main pumping chamber (the left ventricle). The interventricular septum — the wall of muscle that separates the two ventricles of the heart — is particularly thickened. This thickened wall can interfere with the function of the mitral valve and can block the flow of blood out of the heart. The inefficient outflow of blood causes the pressure in the heart to increase, thereby causing the left ventricle to work harder. This results in further thickening of the walls of the left ventricle over time. Symptoms associated with HOCM can include chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, syncope (sudden fainting), and even sudden death.
Treatments for HOCM include medication to control the heart's contraction, insertion of pacemakers to prevent arrhythmias, and — when medications fail — surgical redirection of the thickened septum. Interventional cardiologists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital offer alcohol septal ablation as an alternative to surgery in select patients. This relatively new treatment for HOCM actually reduces the obstruction and improves blood flow out of the heart. In addition, it often improves the function of the mitral valve.
During alcohol septal ablation, a balloon catheter is inserted in the groin and is led to the heart. With echocardiographic guidance, the catheter is led to the small artery that supplies the interventricular septum. A small amount of pure alcohol is introduced into the vessel. This results in carefully controlled damage to that part of the abnormally thickened septum. A thinner wall of scar tissue that reduces the obstruction and improves the overall function of the heart will replace the septum. Many patients feel immediate improvement of their symptoms; the majority continue to improve over many months.
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- NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Announces State-of-the-Art, Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center in Washington Heights
- "Bad" Cholesterol May Not Be the Best Predictor of Heart Disease Risk in Generally Healthy Individuals
- $50 Million Gift to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center More
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RELATED LINKS
- Cardiology, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia
- Cardiology, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
- NewYork-Presbyterian Heart
- NewYork-Presbyterian Heart Advanced Diagnostics
- Cardiology Research, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia
- Cardiolovascular Research, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia
- Cardiology Research, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
