Heart Disease:
Diagnosing Heart Disease: Cardiac Catheterization

• Why do I need a cardiac catheterization?
• What are the risks associated with cardiac catheterization?
• How should I prepare for the procedure?
• How long does the procedure last?
• What happens during the cardiac catheterization?
• What happens after the cardiac catheterization?

Cardiac catheterization (also called cardiac cath or coronary angiogram) is a procedure that allows your doctor to "see" how well your heart is functioning. The test involves inserting a long, narrow tube, called a catheter, into a blood vessel in your arm or leg, and guiding it to your heart with the aid of a special X-ray machine. Contrast dye is injected through the catheter so that X-ray movies of your valves, coronary arteries and heart chambers can be created.

Why Do I Need a Cardiac Catheterization?

Your doctor uses cardiac cath to:

• Evaluate or confirm the presence of heart disease (such as coronary artery disease, heart valve disease or disease of the aorta).
• Evaluate heart muscle function.
• Determine the need for further treatment (for example, angioplasty or bypass surgery )
• At many medical centers, cardiac catheterization is used to perform several interventional, or therapeutic, procedures to open blocked arteries (such as balloon angioplasty, brachytherapy, atherectomy and stents).

What Are the Risks Associated With Cardiac Catheterization?

Risks are rare, but can include:

• Bleeding around the point of puncture
• Abnormal heart rhythms
• Blood clots
• Infection
• Allergic reaction to the dye
• Stroke
• Heart attack
• Perforation of a blood vessel
• Air embolism (introduction of air into a blood vessel which can be life-threatening)
• Death

Be sure to ask your doctor any questions before undergoing the procedure.

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