UCSF has maintained a leadership position in the field of cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology (cardiac and peripheral vascular disease). UCSF Interventional Cardiology is a dedicated team of physicians, technicians and nursing staff which offers all diagnostic and interventional services available. Invasive state-of-the-art techniques in brand new state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratories are practiced on a daily basis. These include diagnostic catheterization and angiography, myocardial biopsy, balloon angioplasty (PTCA) and stenting, directional atherectomy, rotational atherectomy, transluminal extraction atherectomy, laser therapy, intracoronary stenting, transeptal catheterization including PFO and ASD closure, intra-cardiac echocardiography, pulmonic/tricuspid/ mitral/aortic valvuloplasty, coronary flow measurement and fractional flow reserve assessment, quantitative coronary angiography, intravascular ultrasound, and alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In addition, peripheral vascular angiography including aortic, subclavian, renal, iliac, femoral, popliteal and below the knee arterial imaging and therapies are routinely performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
	Full-time adult cardiac interventionists are available whose primary clinical focus is catheter-based diagnosis and therapy. UCSF has been at the forefront in the development intracoronary devices and continues to do so. UCSF has been very active in the study of the impact of interventions on health care, appropriate indications and utilization of catheter-based treatment. UCSF cardiac catheterization participates in numerous research activities to advance the care of patients with heart disease (see link). UCSF is a very active medical center for treating patients with pulmonary hypertension and heart transplantation and our physicians have expertise in caring for patients with such advanced heart diseases. The cardiac catheterization laboratory works closely with the pulmonary hypertension and the heart transplant programs at UCSF for optimal patient care.
We are leaders in interventional cardiac care. Primary angioplasty for myocardial infarction is standard of care at UCSF with interventional service available from the minute the patient arrives to the hospital by a 24 hour on call team. A concentrated effort is made to maintain our service with all modern techniques in the rapidly advancing field. Quality patient care remains the goal of UCSF Interventional Cardiology Service. UCSF has been named the fastest cardiac catheterization laboratory in the nation in 2008-2009 out of over 880 hospitals in treating patients with a heart attack from the minute they present to the emergency room. This has resulted in outstanding patient outcomes (see link).