Cardiac catheterization offers a way to look inside the heart and assess its valves and blood vessels. Most often, our board-certified cardiologists at Sunnyvale Cardiology use this minimally invasive procedure to investigate certain symptoms and diagnose heart problems — but we can also use it to facilitate further cardiac testing and treatment.
In this month’s blog, our expert team discusses the applications of cardiac catheterization, including when it might be a recommended part of your cardiovascular care.
Cardiac catheterization, also known as a “heart cath” test, is one of the most frequently conducted heart procedures in the United States. It involves the insertion of a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter into a blood vessel (vein or artery) in your wrist or groin (or in some cases, upper thigh or neck).
Using live X-ray (fluoroscopy) guidance, the catheter is carefully threaded through the blood vessel and into the heart, where it’s used to look at your coronary arteries and heart chambers, measure pressures, and check for problems with heart function or blood flow. It can also be used to help facilitate cardiac treatment.
Left heart catheterization works through an artery to check the left side of your heart; right heart catheterization works through a vein to check the right side.
Cardiac catheterization isn’t major heart surgery — it’s a minimally invasive procedure that provides detailed information for enhanced cardiovascular evaluation, diagnosis, and care. Here’s a closer look at the many applications of this versatile tool.
Cardiac catheterization is primarily an investigative and diagnostic tool. We can use it to:
If you’ve been experiencing ongoing symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness, a heart cath can help us determine the underlying cause and further assess the severity of the problem.
A heart cath is often the next step following abnormal or inconclusive results from an earlier cardiac test, such as an echocardiogram, electrocardiogram (EKG), stress test, CT scan, or MRI. It can be especially helpful when initial noninvasive testing doesn’t provide clear indications for ongoing cardiovascular symptoms.
Cardiac catheterization can help us evaluate how well your heart pumps blood, how well your valves function, check blood pressure and flow in your coronary and pulmonary arteries, take a blood sample from inside your heart to measure its oxygen levels, and collect biopsies (small tissue samples) for further laboratory testing.
In assessing the various aspects of heart function, our goal is to identify and evaluate any potential problems. We can pinpoint blockages and narrowing in cardiac arteries, spot heart valve issues like stenosis (narrowing) or regurgitation (leakage), and identify heart chamber defects, among other issues.
Finally, cardiac catheterization can help us diagnose many heart conditions, including coronary heart disease, heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmia), heart valve disease, previous heart attack(s), and congenital heart defects. We can also use it to determine the cause of cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure.
When a heart problem can be treated via heart cath, the procedure may eliminate the need for open-heart surgery. We can use it to repair or replace damaged heart valves, treat an arrhythmia with ablation, open blocked coronary arteries, place a stent to keep an artery open, and repair certain heart defects.
Cardiac catheterization can also help us determine if you need heart surgery, as well as provide valuable information to assist in planning a procedure like coronary artery bypass surgery.
Do you have questions about an upcoming cardiac catheterization procedure? We have answers. Call or send a message to us at Sunnyvale Cardiology in Sunnyvale, Texas, today.
