Our Cardiac Catheterization Lab offers state-of-the-art equipment with a specially trained staff. This lab is used to evaluate the chambers of the heart, electrical system, the arteries and how well your heart is pumping. Many abnormalities of the heart's electrical system and arteries can be treated when they are diagnosed in the lab. Information about cardiac catheterization can be found at:

Cardiac Catheterization | Angiography | Angioplasty

Hendrick Acquires Thrombectomy System to Remove Blood Clots

Click Here! to view 3D animation.

Residents of the Texas Midwest now have access to a progressive, new technology currently available at Hendrick Medical Center. The thrombectomy system is being used in Hendrick Medical Center’s cardiac catheterization lab to remove thrombus, also known as blood clots, from the arteries of the heart. These blood clots have been identified as the leading cause of heart attacks.

The thrombectomy system, with its high-speed saline jets, removes blood clots in seconds. A very small catheter is used to navigate through the vessels or graft of the heart to the area of the blockage. When the system is activated, high-speed saline jets create a localized low-pressure zone around the catheter tip. The difference between the low pressure at the catheter tip and the higher pressure in the vessel or graft will draw the blood clot into the catheter and out of the body. This high to low pressure principle is known as the Bernoulli effect; it’s the same scientific principle that makes airplanes fly.

The system actually removes the thrombus from the body as opposed to dissolving it or breaking it up and being sent downstream where pieces may cause additional blockages and complications. In addition to removing blood clots in the coronary vessels, the thrombectomy system also can remove arterial blockages in the arms and legs.