Risks And Complications

Risks And Complications

The overall risk for complications from cardiac catheterization is about 1 in 1000. Contrast dyes cause adverse effects in almost 1 out of 10 patients. The common side effect is nausea or vomiting. Some of the complications due to dye allergy are -

• Fast heartbeat
• Slow heartbeat
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Shock
• Kidney failure
• Epilepsy
• Itching
• Rashes

Few other complications are -

• Bleeding at the insertion site
• Damage to the blood vessels used for catheter entry
• Infection
• Ventricular arrhythmias
• Pneumothorax [air collection between the chest wall and the lungs]
• Cardiac tamponade [fluid collection around the heart]
• Heart attack
• Stroke [0.1%]
• Air embolism
• Death [0.1- 0.2%]

In rare cases, patients undergoing angiogram will be shifted to the operation room for an emergency bypass surgery.