Cardiac catheterization is a diagnostic procedure used to determine the extent of heart disease, including coronary artery disease and defective heart valves. Over 1,700 cardiac catheterizations and 600 interventions are performed each year in the Heart Center Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories (Cath Labs). The Cath Labs also perform over 800 peripheral or cerebral angiograms and 200 interventions - including cerebral coiling and stenting, carotid stenting and peripheral atherectomy. Each year, over 300 pacemaker or implantable defibrillator implants, including bi-ventricular pacemakers for treatment of congestive heart failure, are also performed. These procedures are all done in the Heart Vascular Center by our highly experienced cardiologists, interventional radiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and neuro interventionalists. We utilize state of the art single plane and bi-plane imaging equipment.

In cardiac catheterization, a precise and highly skilled procedure, a catheter is inserted into an artery through a small incision in the arm or groin area. With the use of X-ray photography, the catheter is guided through the heart until the blockage is found. The catheter can then measure the amount of pressure within the heart, so the doctor can determine pumping power and valve function. With the release of a special dye, a coronary angiogram helps detect blockage in the coronary arteries, and a left ventriculogram looks at the main pumping chamber of the heart.

Cardiologists in the Cath Lab also perform interventional procedures often helping the patient avoid surgery. These procedures include: percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), coronary artery stenting, rotablator, and transluminal extraction catheter atherectomy (TEC). Cardiac catheterization takes less than an hour, and the patient usually goes home the same day unless further medical attention is needed. The procedure has a low risk of serious complication.