Cardiac Care Advances At Brigham And Women's Hospital Lowers Likelihood Of Open Heart Surgery

BOSTON (CBS) -- "I just wasn't as energetic as I used to be. I just figured that was part of getting older."

That's how 53-year-old Kevin De Gray of Bellingham explained away his symptoms. He's been climbing mountains for years, but noticed he was having more trouble getting to the top.

"By the time I got there I was a lot more tired and shortness of breath," he says.

Kevin was found to have a complete blockage of a main artery in his heart. Up to 20 percent of people with coronary artery disease have longstanding complete blockages of their arteries that can't be treated with standard angioplasty, including Kevin's.

Often open-heart surgery is the only option, but Kevin was lucky. He was sent to Dr. Kevin Croce, an interventional cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

"In Kevin's case, we were able to use some of the advanced techniques that we have here (at the Brigham) to be able to treat patients like him," said the doctor.

That state of the art technology and special tools allowed Croce to get through Kevin's tight blockage and stent it open and almost immediately, Kevin felt better.

"I feel great," Kevin says. "I feel better. I can breathe better."

"To be able to assemble a team, get mastery of new techniques to make people feel much, much better in a 3 or 4 hour procedure where they're feeling great the next day is really cool," Croce says.

And Kevin plans to do all of the things he kept putting off in life.

"I think when you go through something like this, it changes your outlook," he said. "You realize that if you're going to want to do something, do it. Don't just say 'Put it in the bucket.' You got to take stuff out of the bucket," he adds.

Brigham and Women's has been offering these special techniques for about three years. They are now performing hundreds a year and getting referrals from all over the country.