I’m Aware That I’m Rare: Vikas Aggarwal, MBBS, MPH (217)

The phaware® interview

Dr. Vikas Aggarwal discusses balloon pulmonary angioplasty as a treatment for CTEPH patients. Dr. Aggarwal is a board certified interventional cardiologist and Endovascular Interventional specialist. He directs the interventional vascular medicine program within the division of cardiology at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. Dr. Aggarwal specializes in percutaneous therapies for Deep Vein and Pulmonary Thromboembolic disease including catheter based thrombus removal and Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty.

Hi, my name is Dr. Vikas Aggarwal. I’m an international cardiologist at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. My area of expertise happens to be in pulmonary vascular interventions and I’m currently leading the balloon pulmonary angioplasty program for CTEPH patients. I work hands in hand with our multidisciplinary CTEPH team, led by Dr. Valerie McLaughlin, Dr. Scott Visovatti and our cardiac surgeon, Dr. Jonathan Haft.

The University of Michigan Hospital happens to be the lead academic medical center in the state of Michigan. Recently, balloon pulmonary angioplasty was introduced as a new treatment option for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension who are no longer surgical candidates.

CTEPH stands for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. It’s a disease that involves blood clots in the arteries supplying both our lungs. These blood clots are leftover clots from prior pulmonary embolisms and are now apparent and organized within the wall of these arteries, which leads to narrowing of the branches of the pulmonary arteries in our lung, leading to increased pressure inside the lungs, which in turn leads to extra stress and effects the right side of our heart.

The treatment of choice for patients with this pathology happens to be cardiac surgery, in which a surgeon dissects down into these branches of the pulmonary artery and takes this clot out. However, more than 50% of all patients with…