Urban-only angioplasty doesn’t serve patients

When your heart’s in trouble, needlessly high barriers shouldn’t stand in the way of help. That’s why the state Board of Health should expand non-emergency angioplasties beyond a handful of urban hospitals. Angioplasty – a procedure in which a tiny balloon is used to expand a clogged heart artery – is now mostly restricted to hospitals that also do open-heart surgery. Tacoma General Hospital, for example, can offer elective angioplasties. Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, which doesn’t do open heart surgeries, isn’t allowed to do the elective procedure under state rules. A key word here is “elective.” In fact, heart specialists at Good Samaritan do perform emergency angioplasties. But despite having the necessary staff and equipment, they can’t do scheduled procedures for patients who aren’t at immediate risk. That... [read full story]