Cardiac catheterization is a procedure prescribed for those patients who have seen their family doctor and been through a heart stress test. A “positive” stress test, family history of heart disease and/or symptoms generally means an appointment with a cardiologist, who may prescribe the cardiac catheterization. 

A small IV is inserted in the groin area and a catheter then travels up into the heart where a contrast dye is injected to “light up” the coronary arteries and expose any blockages.

The procedure can determine if the valves of the heart are working properly and measures pressure to make sure all four chambers of the heart are functioning properly. If doctors find a blockage, the catheterization affords them the opportunity, should the blockage be substantial, to fix the blockage with an angioplasty.

A numbing agent is given in the area of insertion, as well as a sedating medicine to calm the patient (which may also cause them to doze in and out during the procedure). They may also feel warmth in the chest area from the dye. For the most part, however, patients are awake for the procedure (which doctors prefer) and are able to alert doctors if they have any other discomfort.

The procedure itself lasts approximately 40 minutes and patients are able to head home the same day. Because the process involves the heart, patients are asked to rest the remainder of the day. In some cases, the catheterization can lead directly to an angioplasty, which would mean an overnight stay for the patient.

Procedure results are almost immediate. If the doctor sees more than a 90 percent blockage and feels that he wants to deal with it that same day, he’ll inform the patient that the blockage should be dealt with immediately. More often than not, the doctor will wrap up the procedure and meet with the patient in the recovery area. Patients are often asked to come back the following day or week for follow-up.

Not all blockages require an angioplasty and, in those cases, doctors advise the patient with pictures of where the blockage is, to what degree, what medicines will be used right now and/or whether the correct course of action is to simply continue to monitor it.

Catheterization technology has improved, especially over the last five years, as smaller catheters are being employed and the dye has been improved to be much more tolerable for the body to break down. There are fewer complications, and stents—devices used in expanding an artery—are now drug-coated and keep the vessel open for most people. All this has translated into a decrease in return visits.

Two sites within Crozer-Keystone Health System perform cardiac catheterizations. Crozer-Chester Medical Center performs cardiac catheterizations and all angioplasties, while Taylor Hospital performs diagnostic cardiac catheterizations only. 

For more information about cardiac care at Crozer-Keystone Health System, call 1-866-95-PULSE (1-866-957-8573) or visit http://ckheart.crozer.org.