Cardiac catheterization is a diagnostic procedure used to help determine whether there is problem with your heart. In some cases, treatment can be administered at this time as well.
During this procedure, a thin, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into an artery in your arm, leg, groin or neck — and then guided to your heart.
Your interventional cardiologist then threads various tools through this catheter in order to visualize your heart, take a biopsy or perform other tests that can help diagnose various heart conditions.
Our Expert Approach to Cardiac Catheterization
At Houston Methodist, our interventional cardiologists lead the field in using catheterization to diagnose and treat heart disease.
As often as possible, our experts give the option of a transradial cardiac catheterization — in which the catheter is inserted through an artery in your arm. This advanced technique offers numerous advantages, including:
Reduced bleeding
Fewer complications
Improved patient experience
Cardiac catheterization can also be used to treat some heart conditions. Our experts leverage their extensive experience and team-based approach to offer this less invasive approach whenever possible to treat heart conditions.
About Cardiac Catheterization
Via cardiac catheterization, an interventional cardiologist can:
Look for blockages in your blood vessels (also called an angiogram)
In addition to its use in diagnosing heart conditions, cardiac catheterization is sometimes a component of various nonsurgical heart treatment options.
The types of heart procedures that can performed via cardiac catheterization include:
Coronary or peripheral angioplasty – restores blood flow to the heart by opening blood vessels that are narrow or blocked (also called percutaneous coronary intervention)
Stenting – often performed during angioplasty, a small wire mesh tube is inserted to help keep the blood vessel open
Radiofrequency ablation – creates a barrier between damaged heart tissue and healthy heart tissue, preventing abnormal electrical signals from traveling to the rest of the heart
Atherectomy – removes plaque buildup in the coronary arteries
Percutaneous septal defect – used to repair a hole in the muscular wall between the left and right heart chambers
Cardiac catheterization is performed in a hospital’s catheterization (cath) lab. This is a room with special imaging machines and other tools needed for catheterization.
In most cases, cardiac catheterization is performed while you are awake, but sedated. Some procedures, however, including ablation and valve repair, may require general anesthesia.
During this procedure, a thin, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into an artery vessel in the arm, groin or neck and guided to the heart. Your interventional cardiologist is then able to thread tiny tools through the catheter to diagnose or treat your heart condition.
Choose a Doctor at One of Our Locations
FILTERS:
Clear All Filters
No results were found that matched your search criteria.
Please try removing filters or zooming out on the map.
