OhioHealth Hospitals Complete First-Of-Its-Kind Heart Procedure

Interventional cardiologists at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital and OhioHealth Grant Medical Center are among the first wave of specialists in the country to offer the AGENT drug-coated balloon catheter as an alternative to open the blood vessel. The devices’ balloon is inflated inside the blood vessel, transferring a dose of medication to the artery to treat in-stent restenosis, a condition in which a stented artery has re-narrowed due to plaque or scar tissue. This technology is the first-of-its-kind to treat this condition.

While Riverside is the first within OhioHealth to utilize the AGENT system, treating their first patients on May 29, OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital is also now offering it to patients. Marion General Hospital completed their first procedure using AGENT on Monday, July 15. 

Arash Arshi, MD, OhioHealth’s System Chief of Interventional Cardiology, says the AGENT™ Drug-Coated Balloon is typically put in as an outpatient procedure, meaning patients can go home that same day. “The availability of the drug-coated balloon allows patients with coronary restenosis to receive effective treatment locally and at the same time as their initial procedure,” said Dr. Arshi. “Previously these patients would be scheduled at a later date to undergo Brachytherapy at Riverside Methodist Hospital.”

Spectrum News reporter, Jenna Jordan, spoke with Kyle Feldmann, an interventional cardiologist who practices at both OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital and OhioHealth Marion General Hospital and Emergency Department. 

“There always comes a point that if you kept forming blockages within stents, we would try to put another stent,” Dr. Feldmann told Jordan, “But there’s only so much room within blood vessels, so that’s where this technology has really become a key component. And I think it’s going to be our new way to treat any blockage that forms within a stent.” 

Mansfield Hospital treated its first patient using the AGENT™ Drug-Coated Balloon Wednesday, June 19th. 

“It is a gamechanger for this particular set of patients,” said Yohannes Bayissa, MD, interventional cardiologist with Mansfield Hospital, “Patients who’ve had stents before and are re-narrowing again and again, this is one revolutionary way of treating the problem.”

According to Dr. Bayissa, treatment options were limited for patients experiencing in-stent restenosis and it was a difficult condition to treat until now.

“Treating this type of problem is very challenging because up until now, we have just been re-ballooning again and again, or we use what we call Brachytherapy, which is radiation inside the stent, and that has its own drawback as well,” said Dr. Bayissa.

Dr. Bayissa says this procedure is just another way OhioHealth, Mansfield Hospital included, is offering advanced cardiac care to its community.

“This cath lab does a lot of advanced procedures,” said Dr. Bayissa. “Over the last 4-5 years, OhioHealth helped us to bring advanced care locally and that includes valve replacements, left atrial appendage occlusion, and also blood clot removal from the lungs. This is just one more step this institute is taking to bring advanced treatment to the community.”