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Cardiac Catheterization - During Cardiac Catheterization - During Cardiac Catheterization

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Cardiac catheterization takes place in a catheterization laboratory, or cath lab, which is similar to a small operating room. The procedure is often done in a hospital, but you may be able to have the procedure in a catheterization laboratory located in a medical clinic, depending on the reason you are having the procedure and the risk for complications.

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\n How is cardiac catheterization done? \n
- Cardiac Catheterization - During Cardiac Catheterization

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Before cardiac catheterization, an intravenous line (IV) will be placed in a vein in your arm. Through this IV you will get a medicine to either help you relax or make you sleep during the procedure.

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You will get numbing medicine, or local anesthesia, at the site where the doctor will insert the catheter. This site is called the access site and may be in the upper thigh, arm, neck, or under the collarbone. The doctor places a needle into a blood vessel at the access site. A guidewire is inserted into the needle, and the needle is taken out. Then the doctor places a small tube called a sheath in the blood vessel around the guidewire. The guidewire is removed. The catheter is then inserted through the sheath. Your doctor watches X-ray images to see where to place the tip of the catheter.

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Once the catheter is in place, your doctor may use it to perform tests or treatments on your heart. For example, he or she may inject a dye into the catheter to look at blood flow in the heart. The dye will enter your blood vessels and make your coronary arteries visible in X-ray pictures.

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\n \"Illustration \n
\n Cardiac catheterization. This image shows how a catheter is inserted into the femoral artery at the left upper thigh. Local anesthetic is given at the access site, and a needle is placed in the femoral artery. A guidewire is inserted into the needle, and the needle is removed. A tube called a sheath is placed around the guidewire. The guidewire is removed, and a catheter is inserted into the sheath and passed up through a coronary artery to the heart. Medical Illustration Copyright \u00a9 2019 Nucleus Medical Media, All rights reserved. \n
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\n Possible risks and complications \n
- Cardiac Catheterization - During Cardiac Catheterization

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Cardiac catheterization is a relatively safe procedure, and complications are rare. Possible complications include the following:

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  • Allergic reaction to the dye used. This reaction may be hives or a more serious reaction.
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  • Arrhythmias
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  • Bleeding at the access site or inside your abdomen
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  • Blood clot formation at the access site, inside your abdomen, in a blood vessel, or in your heart
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  • Collapsed lung, called pneumothorax, resulting in air in the space between your lung and chest wall
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  • Damage to blood vessels, heart valves, or your heart
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  • Heart attack
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  • Hypothermia, especially in small children
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  • Infection
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  • Low blood pressure from bleeding or as a reaction to the procedure
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  • Need for blood transfusion
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  • Need for emergency surgery to repair a tear in the aorta or coronary artery and restore blood flow to the heart. This may be done using a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).
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  • Side effects of general anesthesia, if used. These can include nausea, vomiting, confusion, or an allergic reaction.
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  • Stroke
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Although not an immediate risk, repeated radiation exposure from X-rays used to place the catheter in the heart, especially with children, may increase the risk of cancer and leukemia, damage to skin, and cataracts later in life.

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\n Reminders \n
- Cardiac Catheterization - During Cardiac Catheterization

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Syndicated Content Details:
Source URL: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/subscribe/3983
Source Agency: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Captured Date: 2019-03-29 16:26:00.0
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