PET CT could change which patients end up in the cath lab—and which ones don’t.

This episode gets into the heart tests, stents, and real-world decisions cardiologists debate every day.

The Blue Collar ICs crew sits down with interventional cardiologist Steve to break down stress PET CT versus traditional nuclear stress testing, coronary flow reserve, microvascular disease, calcium scores, coronary CTA, and the limits of testing anatomy without physiology. They also debate when a severe coronary blockage should actually be stented, where drug-coated balloons fit into PCI, and whether CT-guided PCI planning is genuinely useful or just another trend.

The conversation also goes beyond the cath lab into private practice, hospital employment, cardiology economics, EP demand, and why experience doing cases every day matters.

Topics include PET CT, stress testing, myocardial ischemia, coronary artery disease, coronary flow reserve, microvascular disease, calcium scoring, coronary CTA, PCI, stents, drug-coated balloons, interventional cardiology, private practice, and the cath lab.

Subscribe to Blue Collar ICs for straight talk from cardiologists working on the front lines—and share this episode with someone who lives in the cath lab.

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A massive clot crossing into the left atrium. A career rebuilt at 35. And the daily reality of working inside a busy cath lab.

This episode of Blue Collar ICs features James “JP” Pierce, Cath Lab Director at Lane Regional Medical Center in Zachary, Louisiana. JP shares how he went from industrial work to radiology and ultimately found his calling in the cath lab, where he’s spent 17 years taking on just about every role imaginable.

The crew also gets into the cases that make interventional cardiology unpredictable: a complex saddle pulmonary embolism with thrombus crossing into the left atrium, a severely thrombosed peripheral graft, left bundle branch pacing, drug-coated balloons, protected PCI, and the decisions operators have to make when there’s no perfect answer.

Plus, JP shares his firsthand experience seeing AeroShield in action and discusses why radiation protection, workflow, staff safety, and career longevity are becoming bigger conversations inside the cath lab.

Topics include interventional cardiology, cath lab careers, complex PCI, pulmonary embolism, thrombectomy, peripheral vascular intervention, radiation exposure, radiation protection, patient safety, medical devices, and real-world cath lab workflow.

Subscribe to Blue Collar ICs, follow the show on social media, and share this episode with someone who lives the cath lab life.

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Fem-pop Intervention in 2026 brings together three experienced interventional cardiologists for a practical discussion on today's approach to femoropopliteal (SFA and popliteal) interventions.

Dr. Bill Dixon, Dr. Brian Brown, and special guest Dr. Jason Yoho compare their real-world techniques for CTO crossing, IVUS-guided vessel preparation, atherectomy, intravascular lithotripsy (IVL), drug-coated balloons, specialty stents, and managing complex PAD and CLI patients. Rather than presenting a single "right" answer, they explain how lesion characteristics, patient anatomy, practice setting, and available technology all influence treatment decisions.

This episode is proudly sponsored by Veryan Medical and features discussion of the BioMimics 3D® Vascular Stent System, a helical stent engineered for the dynamic environment of the superficial femoral artery (SFA) and distal popliteal artery. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Jason Yoho shares his extensive clinical experience using the BioMimics 3D stent and discusses how its helical design helps accommodate the biomechanical forces of the femoropopliteal segment.

Topics covered:

• Fem-pop intervention strategies
• SFA CTO crossing techniques
• IVUS-guided treatment planning
• Atherectomy vs. IVL vs. drug-coated balloons
• Stent selection and vessel scaffolding
• Popliteal and common femoral interventions
• Managing in-stent restenosis
• Limb salvage for CLI patients
• OBL vs. hospital practice considerations

Special thanks to Veryan Medical for sponsoring this episode and supporting education in peripheral vascular intervention.

Subscribe for more real-world conversations from the front lines of interventional cardiology.

#PeripheralArteryDisease #PAD #InterventionalCardiology #Endovascular #FemPop #SFA #CLI #LimbSalvage #BlueCollarICs

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