Cardiac Catheterization

What are cardiac catheterizations?

Cardiac catheterizations are minimally invasive procedures used to assess and treat heart problems.

A catheter is a slender and flexible tube that fits into an artery (a major blood vessel carrying oxygenated blood around your body). Your doctor passes the catheter along the artery — usually one in your groin — until it reaches your heart.

Once the catheter is in position, your doctor can perform detailed investigations of your heart and its blood vessels. They can also address the problems that your cardiac catheterization procedure reveals.

What diagnostic procedures use cardiac catheterizations?

Diagnostic uses of cardiac catheterization include measuring blood flow and pressure in your heart. Your doctor might inject a contrast dye into your arteries (cardiac angiography) to locate blockages restricting blood flow. 

Your doctor can evaluate the heart’s chambers and how well blood passes between them. They can diagnose heart abnormalities and check how well your heart valves function. Your doctor might also take a biopsy (tiny tissue sample) for lab analysis.

How is cardiac catheterization used to treat heart problems?

Cardiac catheterization can treat coronary artery disease (CAD) without having heart surgery.

CAD develops when excess cholesterol in your blood forms sticky plaque that lines the inner walls of your arteries. 

Cholesterol is a kind of fat with several essential functions. However, too much blocks the arteries, restricting blood flow and eventually leading to a heart attack. Two procedures the cardiologists at Heart Clinic of Hammond often perform are:

Angioplasty

During balloon angioplasty, your doctor fits a tiny balloon to the end of the catheter. When it reaches the narrowed artery, your doctor inflates it, which squashes the plaque to widen the space. They might also fit a stent — a mesh tube that stops the treated artery from collapsing.

Atherectomy

Atherectomy also treats CAD. During the cardiac catheterization procedure, your doctor uses a tiny tool at the end of the catheter to scrape plaque from your artery walls.

Heart Clinic of Hammond also uses cardiac catheterization for other procedures, including some permanent pacemaker insertions.

What does having cardiac catheterizations involve?

Cardiac catheterization typically involves a sedative that helps you relax without putting you to sleep completely. A local anesthetic injection numbs the catheterization site to keep you comfortable. 

Your doctor inserts the catheter through a small cut in an artery. Then, using fluoroscopy (moving X-ray) or ultrasound-guided imaging, they feed the catheter along the artery to your heart. Most cardiac catheterizations take about an hour.

After you recover from your sedative, you should be able to go home unless you require further monitoring.

To benefit from the advanced cardiac catheterization skills of Heart Clinic of Hammond’s cardiologists, call and schedule a consultation or book an appointment online today.