St. Mary's Combats Heart Disease with New Intravascular Radiotherapy Technology


In April 2001, St. Mary's began offering patients intravascular radiotherapy, a new minimally invasive therapy for patients with heart disease. This new technology has been clinically proven to be safe and effective in treating in-stent restenosis, or recurring blockage in the coronary artery after stent implantation. Physicians at St. Mary's will use Guidant Corporation's GALILEO™ Intravascular Radiotherapy System to deliver a low dose of beta radiation to stop the cell proliferation that causes re-blockages. Medical research and clinical trial data have shown that small amounts of intravascular radiation is safe and effective in preventing in-stent restenosis. St. Mary's Hospital is one of the first facilities in the United States to offer patients the GALILEO™ System for instravascular radiotherapy for safe and effective treatment of in-stent restenosis.