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.

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