Blog 8

1. What are the main factors of a successful angioplasty procedure?

• A factor for a successful angioplasty would be the knowledge of the coronary arteries. How can you navigate the heart without knowing which arteries to enter or what artery contains the blockage.
• Sanitation is a key component in every invasive procedure but most crucial dealing with a vital organ. The key to cleanliness is sterilization and temperature monitoring of the environment, keeping it cool.   

3. My most valuable source would have to be a duo. I have a source of a medical article called "Angioplasty with Stent Placement for Heart Attack and Unstable Angina" which focuses on the principles of angioplasty and stenting and "Coronary Anatomy and Blood Flow" which deals with the hearts blood circulation and anatomy with precise names and locations.

4. My mentor is Oralia Aragon, nurse practitioner of the Cardiology Department at Keck Hospital at USC. She deals with patients that have had angioplasties and other procedures for the heart as well as other parts of the body, diagnosing and informing the patients of what is going on.

Independent Component Approval 1

1. I plan on following my mentor all over the hospital and shadow her schedule and learn about different types of invasive procedures of the heart and coronary arteries and eventually start to assist her.
2. Oralia Aragon, my mentor, has agreed to let me shadow her and during the process, we go to every floor looking for patients on her roster that need attention. Before we enter the room, she briefs me on what is wrong with patient and what it means in simpler form. When we enter the room, she introduces me and then she goes through with the patient the things they need to know. When we finish our round helping patients, she sits me down in her office and she has me look at angiograms. Angiograms are x-rays of the coronary arteries using a dye that shows up in the blood stream. I look for legions or clots and look at the final comments the doctors have said pertaining to the angiogram and see if my findings match theirs and go back for correction.
3. Following a nurse practitioner that works in Pulmonary functions lab is already a great qualification as a mentor. Doing check ups on the patients is even a learning opportunity for people who have had invasive coronary surgery.