VASCULAR RESEARCH
The Vascular Institute is involved in a number of national research studies in partnership with Oklahoma Foundation for Cardiovascular Research and Oklahoma Cardiovascular Research Group – the research branch of Oklahoma Heart Hospital Physicians.

The Vascular Institute conducts the most prestigious and highest volume of vascular research in the region, giving the center the flexibility to offer patients breaking-edge devices and procedures not found in any other facility in this part of the country.

• carotid STENTING – a number of studies are underway to determine whether stents, like those used to support blocked arteries of the heart, will work well in the carotid artery leading along the neck to the brain.  The CREST study is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to compare the minimally invasive procedure of deploying stents in the carotid with the more traditional endartectomy surgery that involves a large incision along the carotid to remove the plaque.   In the Crest study the vascular surgeon first places a filter device downstream of the stent deployment to capture the plague dislodged by the procedure to prevent a stroke.  The Crest study is for a broad spectrum of patients.  The Capture II study is designed to determine the efficacy of carotid stenting for patients who are not candidates for the standard endartectomy surgery. SONOMA – The NexStent® Carotid Stent System is a similar study conducted with Boston Scientific to determine if carotid stenting is as safe as endartectomy.
• Endologix 006-Suprarenal: Surgical Repair - The most common treatment for a large, unruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm is open surgical repair by a vascular surgeon using a plastic graft to support the weakened wall of the artery.  The Endologix 006-Suprarenal bifurcated Powerlink System endograft is a research study testing the effectiveness of this particular plastic graft. It is distinguished from earlier models because it is biforcated or divided at the bottom like a natural vessel and it is only one piece. 
• Endologix 005- Infrarenal: The term Infrarenal refers to an endograft that treats an abdominal aortic aneurysm located below the kidney.  This research project now has FDA approval.  It involved a Bifurcated Powerlink System endograft that was one of the first times a bifurcated or divided graft was used to treat abdominal aortic aneurysm.
• Endologix 34 mm cuff:  This version of a plastic graft to repair abdominal aortic aneurysm features research into the use of a larger design of endograft for patients who have an aorta that is too large for the more standard commercial grafts. The research into this endograft is helping patients with large aortas avoid extensive open abdominal surgery. 
• Gore 31mm: The Gore Excluder Bifurcated Endoprosthesis-31mm is another large necked endograft being studied at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital to help patients avoid open surgical repair of their aneurysm.
• Valor II: The Valiant Thoracic stent graft system is one of the first systems of grafting being tested for thoracic aortic aneurysms – aneurysms that occur in the chest area, higher on the aortic tree than the abdominal aortic aneurysm.  This research is helping qualified patients undergo a minimally invasive surgery and avoid serious open chest surgery.
• BROADWING – is a registry to create a collection of biological materials that can be used to study peripheral and cardiovascular disease and other related diseases or conditions.  The vascular surgeon uses THE SILVERHAWK DEVICE to collect waste and plaque while clearing the arteries of patients.  This material is collected and logged under the Broadwing registry to help researchers better understand how this plaque is produced and accumulated in the vessels in the hopes of developing new diagnostics and drugs to treat the disease.