News

Simon Gorwara, MD, FACC, an interventional cardiologist at Hudson Valley Heart Center, recently performed the first CryoPlasty procedure in Dutchess County, New York.  CryoPlasty is a new method of treatment for peripheral vascular disease (PVD), combining the effects of cooling and dilating the narrowed blood vessel during the same procedure.

The new technique, performed in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, “offers a more effective dimension to our existing treatment of PVD,” according to Dr. Gorwara. For many patients, the symptoms of PVD can be vague or even non-existent, while others may experience severe, debilitating pain in the legs with minimal exercise. Dr. Gorwara explains that “patients are often in a quandary because their physician may prescribe walking or other exercise to improve their overall cardiovascular fitness, but the painful effects of PVD may interfere with the patient’s ability to carry out those instructions.”

PVD has been treated for a number of years by dilating the affected blood vessel with an angioplasty balloon, positioned at the tip of a special catheter. After manipulating the catheter to the affected area within the blood vessel, the interventional cardiologist inflates the balloon to dilate and open the narrowed area, improving blood flow. Sometimes reinforcing structures, called “stents’” are placed at the balloon inflation sites to help prevent “restenosis,” a condition where blood vessels may again become narrowed at some point after the angioplasty procedure.

With the CryoPlasty procedure, the balloon is filled from a reservoir of liquid nitrous oxide, which changes into a gaseous state when it enters the balloon. As the balloon expands from the nitrous oxide gas, the narrowed area of the blood vessel is dilated and simultaneously cooled to 14 degrees F. The physiologic effects of cooling and dilating the affected area results in several improvements over standard angioplasty:  (a) the blood vessel dilates in a more uniform fashion; (b) growth of new scar tissue in the treated area is minimized; and (c) with less trauma to the treated blood vessel, the probability of re-stenosis is significantly lessened.

Dr. Gorwara points out that “early clinical trials have shown that CryoPlasty is substantially more effective than standard angioplasty in keeping treated blood vessels open for a longer period of time. The procedure is virtually pain free and can often be performed on an outpatient basis. Symptomatic relief may be immediate. We are continuously evaluating new developments in cardiovascular medicine and pride ourselves at The Heart Center in bringing the latest in leading-edge treatment approaches to our patients.”

Simon Gorwara, MD, FACC, received his fellowship training in Cardiovascular Disease from SUNY at Stony Brook, L.I., and took an additional fellowship program in Interventional Cardiology from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, NY, NY.  Dr. Gorwara has been associated with Hudson Valley Heart Center and Director of its Peripheral Vascular Interventional Program since August, 2001. The Heart Center is a group of currently 21 cardiologists with main offices in Poughkeepsie, NY; Fishkill, NY; New Windsor, NY; Rhinebeck NY, and satellite locations in Modena, NY; New Paltz, NY and Sharon, CT.