Coronary Artery Disease Program

Temple cardiovascular specialists help patients with many stages of coronary artery disease (CAD) improve their condition and minimize future risk of heart attack or stroke.

Diagnosis & Treatment Options

Coronary artery disease is a build-up of plaque in the blood vessels that supply oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. Severe blockages in the arteries starve the heart of oxygen, which may lead to a heart attack, or the plaque may rupture and cause a blood clot with the same result.

Because coronary artery disease progresses gradually, it may go unnoticed for awhile. Temple has state-of-the-art diagnostic and imaging services available to find CAD as early as possible and develop an individualized, integrated treatment plan. To manage less-severe CAD, Temple’s cardiologists may prescribe medication and lifestyle changes to reduce symptoms such as fatigue and angina. For severe CAD, we employ a range of minimally invasive and open procedures to unblock coronary arteries or provide a new path for blood to flow around the blockage (a bypass).

Individualized Options, Innovative Care

Many of the minimally invasive procedures—such as angioplasty—that Temple offers for diagnosing and treating CAD can be performed in our state-of-the-art catheterization labs. If the patient needs traditional surgery for another condition, Temple University Hospital’s hybrid operating rooms allow us to employ catheter-based procedures for CAD at the same time—minimizing the need for multiple surgeries and possibly leading to faster recovery. If an open surgery is needed to treat CAD, we may be able to offer an off-pump (beating-heart) bypass that avoids the need for a heart-lung machine. Our experienced surgeons have also pioneered new techniques for protecting the heart and lungs during surgery.