Heart catheterization
Cardiac catheterization is a medical procedure that measures the pressure and blood flow in and around the heart. The process is also known as heart catheterization. Cardiologists use cardiac catheterization to diagnose and evaluate common heart and blood vessels problem, like chest pain(angina) or an abnormal stress test due to coronary artery diseases, irregular heartbeats(arrhythmias), valves conditions like a leaky or narrow valve, a high blood pressure condition in the lungs, blood clots in the lungs from an embolism and an enlarged heart. Cardiac catheterization is done to diagnose coronary artery disease, heart failure, microvascular heart disease, and congenital heart disease.
There are two types of cardiac catheterization procedures: right heart catheterization and left heart catheterization.
Right heart catheterization is a test used to monitor the heartbeat and to measure the blood pressure in your heart and the main blood vessels in the lungs. The test is also called pulmonary artery catheterization. The procedure takes about an hour. Additional time is needed for the other test that may be done and to get ready and recover from the procedure.
Left heart catheterization is the selection of a thin flexible tube(catheter) into the left side of the heart. It is done to diagnose heart problems. The procedure may last from less than 1 hour to several hours.
Required test before cardiac catheterization procedure:
- Blood work
- Electrocardiogram (EKG)
- Chest X-RAY
- Echocardiogram
- Cardiac CT scan
- Heart MRI
- Stress test
Cardiac catheterization has some risks. The possible risk is:
- Postoperative bleeding
- Blood clots
- Bruising
- Damage to the coronary artery, heart or the area where the catheter was inserted
- Heart attack
- Infection
- Damage to blood vessels
- Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
- Kidney damage
- Stroke
- Low blood pressure
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