Further treatment

Depending on the severity and nature of your condition, we may recommend more invasive treatment methods to help tackle your symptoms or prevent a serious health complication from occurring in the future.

Dr Assomull doesn’t offer these treatments but he works closely with expert colleagues at other clinics to offer you the highest standard of care.

Coronary angioplasty and stents

This procedure is performed to open up the arteries if they’re narrowed or blocked. A narrow flexible tube (catheter) is fed through the heart and a balloon is inflated in the affected areas to widen the vessels. Once they’ve been stretched, a wire mesh tube called a stent will be put in place in the arteries permanently to help blood flow freely.

This procedure may be recommended if you have a severe case of angina and your medication is not working. It may also be performed in an emergency if you are experiencing a heart attack.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)

TAVI (also known as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)) works by removing a damaged aortic valve that doesn’t open fully from your heart and replacing it with a new valve. It is performed by feeding a catheter into a blood vessel towards your aortic valve. The catheter is used to fix the replacement valve over the top of your old one.

This procedure will be recommended if you have a condition called aortic stenosis or as an alternative to open heart surgery if it poses too much risk.

Ablation

This surgical procedure uses extreme heat (radiofrequency ablation) or cold (cryoablation) to make tiny scars in heart tissues to help treat abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). These tiny scars help to stop abnormal electrical signals from occurring, which can cause irregular or abnormal rhythms.

This type of treatment will be recommended if you have heart arrhythmias that can’t be controlled with medication or a condition such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), or ventricular tachycardia (VT).

Pacemaker 

A pacemaker is a small battery-powered device that helps support the heart’s electrical system and stops the heart from beating too slowly. It works automatically, so if it senses that your heart has missed a beat or is beating too slowly, it will send signals at a steady rate.

This device may be implanted if you experience a condition such as bradycardia, tachycardia, heart block, or cardiac arrest.

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) 

Similarly to a pacemaker, an ICD is a device that continuously checks the heartbeat and delivers small electric shocks, when needed, to restore a regular heart rhythm. However, unlike a pacemaker, this small device is used to treat fast heartbeats.

This device may be implanted if you are experiencing a condition such as ventricular tachycardia, cardiomyopathy, or heart failure. You may also be given an ICD if you have survived a serious heart event such as a cardiac arrest (your heart suddenly stops beating due to electrical issues).

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) Implantation

This procedure involves implanting a device called a biventricular pacemaker to help the chambers in the heart squeeze better and keep in rhythm so blood can be pumped better around the body. It does this by sending electrical signals to the lower chambers (ventricles) to contract simultaneously.

There are two types of CRT devices: cardiac resynchronisation therapy with a pacemaker (CRT-P) and cardiac resynchronisation therapy with a defibrillator (CRT-D). 

This device may be recommended if you are experiencing heart failure or irregular heart signalling.