Cardiac Catheterization / Coronary Angiogram

The common insertion site for the catheters are groin, arm or neck. An interventional cardiologist can do this procedure. It is performed in a sterile "catheterization laboratory" or "Cath lab". During catheteriztion, contrast material (also called dye) is injected and X-ray images can be viewed live or recorded for future references.

Cardiac catheterization can be done at any age, including for new borns. The procedure approximately takes an hour or more depending on the condition for which it is performed. In the United states, more than one million Americans have angiograms and cardiac catheterization done every year. More than half of these patients have angioplasty or bypass surgery to improve blood supply to their heart.

Picture Of Cardiac Cath Lab

Claude Bernard was the first to catheterize a horse in the 19th century.

The first person to try and insert a catheter into a human heart was Werner Forssmann, in 1929. He had performed this act on himself under the guidance of fluoroscopy. Back then, it was considered a disapproving act until 1956 when he was recognized and awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology along with André Cournand and Dickinson W.Richards.

Cardiac Catheterization Can be Performed to-

• Obtain information about pressures in the individual chambers of the heart, including the pulmonary artery
• Collect blood samples to check oxygen saturation in blood
• Represent coronary anatomy accurately
• Diagnose or confirm the diagnosis of coronary artery diseases, valve diseases, congenital heart defects or diseases of the aorta
• Evaluate heart muscle’s pumping ability
• Obtain tissue sample from the heart for biopsy
• Check for diseases of the aorta
• Open the interatrial septum in some cyanotic congenital heart diseases

It can also be carried out as a therapuetic option, for coronary artery disease, hole in the heart, valve stenosis or narrowing of arteries.