Advances in methods and instruments allow many patients to avoid open surgery. Interventions, such as PTCA are designed to open up blocked arteries and restore blood flow. Most interventions are performed in a labaratory, not a surgical unit.
Compare Akron General with National Standards:
Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Antioplasty (PTCA)
Procedure Volumes
Physician Volumes
Physician Board Certification
Length of Stay
Data Bank Reporting
Inpatient Mortality
Advanced Technology
1. Procedure Volumes
The Leapfrog Group has recommended that hospitals which perform percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) should perform a minimum of 400 procedures per year in order to maintain the highest level of quality (Surgery, September 2001: 130; 415-422). American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines have a similar recommendation (Circulation, June 19, 2001: 103(24); 3019-3041).
Akron General Medical Center's interventional cardiologists performed 865 PTCAs in 2006, exceeding the AHA/ACC guidelines recommending that a Hospitals perform at least 400 PCI procedures/year.
2. Physician Volumes
Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) guidelines published by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association recommend that individual physicians who perform PTCA should perform a minimum of 75 procedures/year in order to obtain the best outcomes. (Circulation, June 19, 2001: 103(24); 3019-3041)
100% percent of Akron General Medical Center’s interventional cardiologists performed more than 75 PTCA procedures in 2004, exceeding the AHA/ACC guidelines for individual physician volume.
3. Physician Board Certification
A board-certified physician has completed an approved educational training program and an evaluation process including an examination designed to assess the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to provide quality patient care in that specialty. A specialty certificate is issued by a medical specialty certifying board, which is valid nationwide. Although certification is not required for an individual physician to practice medicine, most hospitals and managed care organizations require that at least a certain percentage of their staff be “board certified." (American Board of Medical Specialties)
The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) require that physicians performing PTCA should be board certified in Interventional Cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. (Circulation, June 19, 2001: 103(24); 3019-3041)
All of Akron General Medical Center’s interventional cardiologists are board certified in Interventional Cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
4. Length of Stay
The average length of stay (measured in days) provides general information about the efficiency of care delivery, and is therefore an important quality indicator. However, patients with a greater severity of illness may have a longer average length of stay.
According to the most recent national data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the average length of stay (ALOS) for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in the US was 2.9 days.
In 2006, Akron General Medical Center’s average length of stay (ALOS) for PTCA was 2.0 days, which was better than the ALOS for PTCA in the most recent HCUP data.
5. Data Bank Reporting
The Leapfrog Group has requested that all hospitals that perform percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) join the American College of Cardiology - National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Data Bank in order to report performance data (American Heart Journal, December 2003: 146(6); 932-934).
Akron General Medical Center reports all percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) data to the American College of Cardiology - National Cardiovascular Data Registry Data Bank as requested by the Leapfrog Group.
6. Inpatient Mortality
The mortality rate (measured as a percentage) provides general information about the quality of care delivery, and can be an important quality indicator. However, some hospitals care for patients with a greater severity of illness and therefore may have a higher mortality rate.
According to the most recent national data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s (HCUP) National Inpatient Sample from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the inpatient mortality rate for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was 0.74 percent.
The inpatient mortality rate for PTCA at Akron General Medical Center was 0.32 percent in 2006, which was better than the rate for PTCA in HCUP’s Nationwide Inpatient Sample.
7. Advanced Technology
Restenosis (renarrowing or reblockage) of an opened coronary artery after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with a bare-metal stent (a tiny, expandable metal coil that is inserted into the newly-opened area of the artery to help keep the artery from narrowing or closing again) occurs at rates of up to 30 percent in some groups of patients. This restenosis may require one or more additional procedures to reopen the artery. (The New England Journal of Medicine, October 2, 2003: 349(14); 1315-1323)
The use of drug-eluting stents (stents containing medication that helps prevent restenosis by gradually releasing the medication over time) has been shown to decrease restenosis after PTCA and stent placement, as well as to decrease the need for additional procedures to reopen an artery. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, February 18, 2004: 43(4); 507-512)
Cardiologists who perform PTCA procedures at Akron General Medical Center use drug-eluting stents in appropriate patient situations.
