Coronary artery disease treatment focuses on relieving symptoms, preventing CAD from worsening and reducing heart attack risk and other complications. As your care team develops your treatment plan, we work closely with you to understand your needs and preferences.  

We consider your symptoms, risk factors and other conditions affecting your health when recommending treatment options. Depending on your specific situation, you may need one or more treatments, including: 

We may recommend a procedure to improve blood flow to your heart if CAD symptoms don’t improve with non-surgical treatments. Our heart surgeons and interventional cardiologists have expertise in several advanced procedures for coronary artery disease.

In many cases, we can open a blocked artery using a minimally invasive approach called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Another name for PCI is coronary angioplasty and stenting. These procedures allow for a shorter recovery time and lower risk of complications.

We partner with interventional specialists to develop most advanced angioplasty and stent implantation techniques used globally. Washington University physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital have developed new strategies for the most complex cases, including people who have had previous bypass surgery or who cannot undergo surgery.

Multiple blockages or those in hard-to-reach areas may need more advanced treatment, such as coronary artery bypass surgery.

Our expertise in coronary artery surgery includes: