Cardiac catheterization is a surgical procedure which is done with a thin and flexible catheter guiding through a blood vessel to the heart for diagnosing and treating heart conditions like irregular heartbeats and blocked arteries. This procedure provides the appropriate information about the heart muscle, heart blood vessels, and heart valves to the doctors. The healthcare professional can initiate different heart tests during the procedure, and can offer treatment, or initiate heart tissue removal for evaluation. With cardiac catheterization, the doctors can offer treatments for heart diseases such as coronary stenting and coronary angioplasty.
There are different reasons leading to cardiac catheterization indications which includes:
Before starting the cardiac catheterization procedure, the doctor is assisted by a team of healthcare professionals which include nurses, technicians, other doctors, and medical professionals. The nurse will ensure placing an IV before the procedure in the patient’s hand or arm. It will give required medication and fluid during, before, and after the procedure to the patient. After the sedative containing medication is given to the patient.
To access the site, the nurse will numb the area with a local anaesthesia to insert the catheter. Once it is done, small discs known as electrodes are placed on the upper body and connected to the electrocardiogram machine. It allows the healthcare team to assess the activity of a heart during the procedure. Then, the doctor initiates inserting the sheath also known as a plastic tube into the access site. Small incision is made for the appropriate placement of a sheath. There might be the use of ultrasound imaging for supplementary assistance. The doctor might ask the patient to hold the breath, take a deep breath, cough, and move the head.
After all the placements are done correctly, the doctor will begin with the procedures required for diagnosing and treating the condition. Finally, once the procedure is done, the doctor will ask the team to remove the sheath and catheter. The site is closed with the use of a dressing or a bandage.
The doctor might involve several procedures to assess the patient’s heart function and diagnose the condition. Here are some of the procedures:
Cardiac catheterization is usually a quick procedure and doesn’t last for more than an hour. However, recovery after cardiac catheterization requires time. After the procedure is completed, the patient needs to rest to recover so that the sedative also wears off. If required, the doctor might put pressure on the access site to stop bleeding. A doctor or nurse will ensure checking and monitoring the access site to evaluate heart rate and blood pressure. The doctor might ask the patient lying flat for a few hours if the incision site was in the groyne.
An overnight stay might be needed if the patient had gone through an additional procedure like ablation or angioplasty during catheterization. The patient is given proper instructions to be followed after discharge. It is recommended to consult the doctor immediately if any unusual changes are observed after the procedure.
BM Birla Heart Research Centre, Kolkata is a super speciality hospital delivering cardiac healthcare services. Our hospital integrates a team of multidisciplinary professionals and the finest heart surgeons in India with global reputation to confirm a high success rate.
Our hospital is integrated with the latest infrastructure and advanced technology for comprehensive diagnosis and personalised care. Get in touch with in case your doctor has recommended cardiac catheterization procedure to diagnose and treat the condition efficiently.
Yes, cardiac catheterization is the safest procedure when done by a skilled and a professional healthcare team.
Yes, coronary angiograms are known to be a segment of a general group of procedures called cardiac catheterizations.
This surgical procedure is recommended for patients who have a higher risk or are too sick, or too old for open heart surgery. It was first tested in 2002 on patients with severe aortic stenosis (a narrowing of the aortic valve opening), who were considered unfit for open heart surgery.
Heart failure is a serious condition marked by the inefficiency of the heart muscles to pump blood to different parts of the body. Also referred to as congestive heart failure, the condition can prove to be life-threatening if not addressed immediately. Such patients are often recommended to undergo a heart transplant, a surgical procedure that involves the replacement of a diseased or non-functional part of the patient’s heart with a healthy heart taken from a deceased donor.
Over the past few decades, various innovations and advancements in the field of cardiology have helped us to learn more and more about the human heart, its functioning, and the diseases that affect it.