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Cardiac catheterization How the Test is Performed:
You are given a mild sedative prior to the test. An intravenous catheter is started in your arm to allow for the administration of medication during the procedure. A radiologist or cardiologist inserts the catheter through a small incision in an artery or vein in your arm, neck, or groin after cleansing the site and numbing the site with a local anesthetic. The catheter is then carefully threaded into your heart using X-ray images called fluoroscopy to guide the insertion. When the catheter is in place, dye is injected to visualize the structures and vessels within the heart.
How to Prepare:
Food and fluid is restricted for 6 to 8 hours before the test. Sometimes, admission the night before the test is required. Otherwise, admission as an outpatient or inpatient the morning of the procedure is required. An explanation of the procedure and its risks is provided by a health care provider. A witnessed, signed consent for the procedure is required. A mild sedative is usually given 1/2 hour before the procedure. You will wear hospital clothing.
Infants and children:
The physical and psychological preparation you can provide for this or any test or procedure depends on your child's age, interests, previous experience, and level of trust. For specific information regarding how you can prepare your child, see the following topics as they correspond to your child's age:
How it Feels:
The procedure takes place in a radiology department, special procedures room, or cardiac diagnostics laboratory within a hospital. Sedation is given to relax you prior to the procedure, but you are awake and able to follow instructions during the test. You will remain on a stretcher for the duration of the test. An incision is made into your vein or artery for threading the catheter into your heart. Local anesthesia is given to insert the catheter, so the only sensation is one of pressure at the site. Discomfort may arise from having to remain still for prolonged periods of time. The procedure may last from 1 to several hours.
Risks:
Risks of the procedure are cardiac arrhythmias , cardiac tamponade , trauma to the vein or artery, low blood pressure , infection, embolism from blood clots at the tip of the catheter, reaction to contrast medium, hemorrhage, stroke , and heart attack .
Why this Test is Performed:
The procedure is performed to evaluate cardiac valvular disease, heart function and blood supply, congenital heart anomalies, and to determine the need for cardiac surgery. Therapeutic catheterization may be used to repair certain types of heart defects, open a stenotic heart valve, and dilate obstructed arteries or grafts in the heart.
Normal Values:
Normal heart size, normal heart motion and thickness, normal heart blood supply, and normal heart pressures are normal.
Abnormal Results:
Cardiac defects or disease may be present, such as coronary artery disease , valvular heart disease , ventricular aneurysms or enlargement.
Additional conditions under which the test may be performed:
Cost:
Information not available.
Special Considerations:
Cardiac catheterization may include coronary angiography .
Cardiac catheterization is used to study the various functions of the heart. Using different techniques, the coronary arteries can be viewed by injecting dye or opened using balloon angioplasty. The oxygen concentration can be measured across the valves and walls (septa) of the heart and pressures within each chamber of the heart and across the valves can be measured. The technique can even be performed in small, newborn infants.
X-ray (fluoroscopy). Fluoroscopy provides immediate visualization of the X-ray images on a screen as well as a permanent record of the procedure. Learn to make informed health care decisions with the Medical Encyclopedia at
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