When it comes to accessing, visualizing, and measuring your heart and coronary arteries, cardiac catheterization is an invaluable diagnostic tool for our board-certified cardiologists at Sunnyvale Cardiology.
And when a diagnostic “cardiac cath” reveals an arterial blockage, arrhythmia, or valve problem, we can use this same minimally invasive approach to facilitate an interventional treatment — often eliminating the need for open heart surgery in the future.
Cardiac catheterization, also known as a “heart cath” or “cardiac cath” test, is a minimally invasive procedure that involves making a small needle puncture in your wrist, neck, or groin to insert a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter into a large blood vessel.
Guided by live X-ray imaging (fluoroscopy), your doctor carefully threads the catheter through the vessel and into your heart. Left cardiac catheterization goes through an artery to assess the left side of your heart; a right heart cath travels through a vein to evaluate the right side.
Once it’s in place, our team can:
A cardiac cath can give our team information about your heart that previous testing, like an EKG or stress test, couldn’t provide; it can also help us diagnose suspected heart problems and determine cardiac treatment needs — like clearing a blockage or placing a stent.
Cardiac catheterization is one of the most utilized diagnostic tools in the United States, and for good reason: Nearly half of Americans (48.6%) have some form of heart disease, which also ranks as the nation’s leading cause of death.
A cardiac cath can help us uncover and treat heart problems early on, as well as in the midst of a cardiac emergency. We frequently use it to:
Abnormal results from a stress test, EKG exam, MRI, or CT scan suggest the presence of heart disease and warrant further investigation. A cardiac cath is typically the next step.
A follow-up heart cath can give our team a better understanding of previous abnormal test results, especially if those results didn’t pinpoint the problem or if they differed from what we found during a physical exam.
If physical exams and other evaluations are suggestive of heart disease, a cardiac cath provides an easy way to diagnose the problem.
We often recommend a diagnostic cardiac cath when we suspect congestive heart failure, heart muscle weakness (cardiomyopathy), valve disease, or a previous heart attack; we also use it to evaluate clogged coronary arteries (atherosclerosis) for early intervention.
If you have symptoms of cardiovascular disease — such as persistent chest pain (angina), shortness of breath (particularly with exertion), dizziness, fainting, or lightheadedness, unexplained extreme fatigue, and irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmia) — a cardiac cath can help us diagnose the nature and severity of your condition with precision.
Several common heart problems can be treated via cardiac catheterization. We can use it to repair or replace damaged heart valves, correct an arrhythmia with ablation, reopen narrowed coronary arteries, place a stent to keep an artery open, and repair certain heart defects.
A cardiac cath (with angioplasty and stent placement) is the go-to emergency treatment procedure for managing an active heart attack. It can be used to treat unstable angina, too.
Cardiac catheterization is an invaluable — and sometimes lifesaving — diagnostic test and interventional treatment tool. If it’s part of your cardiovascular care plan, you’re in excellent hands with our specialists at Sunnyvale Cardiology in Sunnyvale, Texas.
To learn more, call 214-466-6943 today, or use our easy online booking feature to schedule an appointment with our team at your convenience.
