Cardiac Catheterization and Coronary Angioplasty

Cardiac catheterization and angioplasty give a cardiologist a view inside your heart including its activity and blood flow.

Catheterization

The placement of a long, narrow, flexible tube called a catheter into the heart, usually by passing the tube through an artery.

Angioplasty

The process of injecting a dye through the catheter. The dye makes the coronary arteries and potentially harmful blockages visible on X-ray.

These procedures will help your doctor diagnose your heart problem and plan the best treatment for you. By studying the X-rays (called angiograms) created by angioplasty, your doctor can:

• determine how easily blood is flowing through the coronary arteries
• identify any blockage in an artery
• evaluate the heart's pumping action

About one million people have this procedure in the United States every year.

Risks associated with these procedures are minimal, however complications can include heart attack, bleeding, clotting and stroke. In the hands of the experienced specialists at our hospital, the risk for any one of these complications is less than one percent.

The benefits of the procedure far outweigh the risks. Your risk factor is directly related to your age, general health and medical condition. Your cardiologist can speak to you about your personal risk.

What will I experience during the procedure?

Most patients undergo heart catheterizations as a pre-scheduled, outpatient procedure, although some procedures can be performed urgently due to chest pain.

For a scheduled procedure, you will come to our hospital the day of your procedure and be given a mild sedative to help you relax.

Once you are in the Cath lab, you will be given a local anesthetic where the catheter will be inserted. The cardiologist will insert the catheter and pass it slowly through the arteries until it reaches the heart. The physician observes the catheter's position on an X-ray screen.

You should not feel anything during this part of the procedure.

When the catheter reaches your heart, you may experience the sensation of your heart skipping or beating faster. These feelings are normal and not dangerous.