Cardiac catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure to check how well your heart is working.

A thin, hollow tube called a catheter is inserted into a large blood vessel (hand or groin) that leads to your heart.

 

Cardiac catheterization is done to find out if you have disease of the heart muscle, valves, or coronary arteries. During the procedure, the pressure and blood flow in your heart can be measured.

 

Coronary angiography is done during cardiac catheterization. A contract dye is injected to "paint" your coronary arteries so they can be seen through X-rays, and determine if there is adequate flow or blockages

 

In case there is a significant blockage, a coronary intervention can be performed to open the blocked artery