August 6th, 2025 by WCBC Radio

The UPMC Heart and Vascular Center offer patients a variety of treatments for cardiac issues.  One of the fields covered at the center is that of structural cardiology.  Dr. Hani Alkhatib, director of UPMC’s Structural Heart Program, explained to WCBC the area he specializes in…

   

“Any structure in the heart that needs to be taken care of in a minimally invasive way without having to open the chest falls under the field of structural cardiology.”

A new advancement in structural cardiology is the leadless pacemaker that is smaller and can be placed without opening the chest…

  

“Basically a small battery or maybe you want to call it a chip that we introduce through a catheter that goes through the groin and we end up putting this battery – we implant in the right chamber of the heart without having any need to have a generator that goes under the skin or any wires.”