New Procedure Speeds Recovery After Angioplasty

OAKLAND PARK (CBS4) - It's the number one killer in American and last year alone cost the U.S. more than $316 billion in healthcare.

It's heart disease.

One of the leading causes of heart disease is arterial blockages.

Now those people who have been diagnosed with blockages have the option of using a simpler approach to fixing this problem.

"One day we're walking around Plantation Central Park and it felt like someone started driving a metal stake right through the middle of my chest," recalled Curt Picunko.

The 58-year-old brushed off the incident that day but his wife encouraged him to make a doctor's appointment to have it checked out. He learned he would need to have an angiogram.

"The doctor explained to me that the angiogram would show if there was any blockage in the heart and possibly during the procedure that they could take care of it through angioplasty," said Picunko.

"Angioplasty is a procedure to improve the circulation of the arteries," explained Dr. Arnold Ghitis, a cardiologist with North Shore Medical Center FMC Campus in Oakland Park who added that it is usually done through the groin.

But he's using a simpler approach through the wrist with great success.

"When we do the procedure from the wrist the recovery is almost immediate. The pain involved is minimal. The thing that they always remember is that right after the procedure they can get up and walk if they have to," said Dr. Ghitis.

It turned out Picunko needed more than just the angioplasty, he had blockages in two arteries; one was 80% blocked, the other 90% narrowed. Dr. Ghitis implanted two stents into Picunko's two blocked arteries, a procedure made easier thanks to the wrist approach.

"So when he said he was going to go through my wrist I was like 'That's great, that's fantastic'," said Picunko who added he recovered very quickly.

Dr. Ghitis said one additional benefit of the wrist approach is that significantly decreases the risk of excessive bleeding which is often a complication of angioplasty through the groin.

To find out more about the wrist procedure, Dr. Ghitis can be reached at the Florida Medical Center at (954) 484-0117.