CONTACTS:
Anne Ballentine
VP Communication & Public Relations, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
414-331-5345
Heidi Lange
Manager, Marketing, Communication & Public Relations, WFH-All Saints
262-687-3890
Resolute Integrity Drug-Eluting Stent Now Used for Coronary Artery Disease
(March 9, 2012) Milwaukee, WI ––Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare became one of the first health care systems in Southeastern Wisconsin to use a new medical device for the minimally invasive treatment of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), or the narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart, in diabetic patients. Last month, the Resolute Integrity Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) from Medtronic Corporation became the first and only heart stent to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating CAD in diabetic patients. The device is currently being used at three Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare hospitals: Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints in Racine; Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – St. Francis in Milwaukee; and Wheaton Franciscan – The Wisconsin Heart Hospital Campus in Wauwatosa.
“The Resolute Integrity DES presents a significant advancement in the treatment of heart disease, especially for those individuals suffering from diabetes,” said Thomas M. Shimshak, MD, Medical Director, Cardiovascular Institute, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints, Racine, WI. “Diabetes itself is a risk to the development of coronary heart disease, and this device provides a tremendous advantage for treating such patients safely and effectively.”
Historically it is difficult to treat CAD patients with diabetes because these patients tend to have smaller coronary arteries and persistently elevated blood-sugar levels, which can increase the rate of procedural complications and long-term safety risks.
To treat CAD, an interventional cardiologist implants a stent – a tiny mesh cylinder designed to prop open a narrowed artery – by inserting a tiny balloon (with the stent attached) into the site of the narrowing vessel. When inflated, the stent expands against the wall of the narrowed artery. The balloon is deflated and removed, while the stent remains in place, providing a scaffold to keep the artery open and restoring normal blood flow to the heart.
Resolute Integrity DES has an improved stent design that allows the device to open a smaller, narrowed artery and optimally deliver medication to help prevent the artery from narrowing again; the drug is absorbed from the stent and into the arterial wall.
Research shows that the nearly 26 million people in the United States who have diabetes are at a greater risk for developing CAD, and millions of U.S. patients with both diabetes and CAD face an increased rate of heart attacks and strokes than patients without diabetes.
More information about the Resolute Integrity DES is available online at http://www.medtronicstents.com.
###
About Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare in Wisconsin
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare (WFH) is a Catholic, not-for-profit organization with more than 100 health and shelter organizations in Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, and Illinois. Started by the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters more than 130 years ago and formally incorporated in 1983, WFH has corporate services offices in Wheaton, Illinois and Glendale, Wisconsin.
In Southeast Wisconsin, WFH is co-sponsored by the Wheaton Franciscan and Felician Sisters and has nearly 10,000 associates, making it the second largest private employer in the area. Hospitals include All Saints in Racine County; Wheaton Franciscan – St. Joseph and The Wisconsin Heart Hospital Campuses, St. Francis, Franklin Hospital, and Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Milwaukee County; and Wheaton Franciscan – Elmbrook Memorial Campus in Waukesha County. The region also includes Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group with more than 350 physicians in more than 50 locations, a network of outpatient centers, three transitional and extended care facilities, Home Health, and Hospice. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare is also affiliated with United Hospital System in Kenosha.
