Heart and Vascular Hospital

In cardiac catheterization (often called cardiac cath), a very small hollow tube, or catheter, is advanced from a blood vessel in the groin or arm through the aorta and into the heart. Once the catheter is in place, several diagnostic techniques may be used. The tip of the catheter can be placed into various parts of the heart to measure the pressures within the chambers and how much oxygen is in the blood. It’s also used to get information about the pumping ability of the heart muscle. The catheter can be advanced into the coronary arteries where a contrast dye can injected into the arteries. The use of fluoroscopy (a special type of X-ray, similar to an X-ray “movie”) assists our physicians in the location of blockages in the coronary arteries as the contrast dye moves through the arteries.

Cardiac catheterization is a medical procedure used to diagnose and treat some heart conditions, including:

• Coronary artery disease – Clogging of the arteries by fatty materials in the blood stream
• Valvular heart disease – Malfunction of one or more of the heart valves that can affect blood flow within the heart
• Congestive heart failure – A condition where the heart muscle has become too weak to pump efficiently
• Certain congenital heart conditions – Defects in one or more heart structures that are present from birth

In cardiac catheterization, a very small, hollow tube or catheter is sent through a blood vessel in the groin or arm through the aorta into the heart. Once the catheter is in place, certain diagnostic techniques can be used. The catheter can be advanced into the arteries of the heart, and contrast dye can be injected. A special x-ray called fluoroscopy allows the doctor to see blockages in the arteries as the dye moves through the arteries. In a different procedure, the tip of the catheter can be placed into different parts of the heart to measure the pressures and blood flow inside the chambers of the heart.