You may have had angina, dizziness, or other symptoms of heart trouble. To help diagnose your problem, your doctor may suggest having a cardiac catheterization. This common procedure is sometimes also used to treat a heart problem.
Mercy Heart & Vascular Institute provides exceptional diagnostic and interventional care for our heart patients and can often prevent the need for open heart surgery through a successful interventional procedure. In our cardiac catheterization laboratories, cardiologists search the inside of arteries for plaque build-up that may threaten the blood flow to the heart or the peripheral circulation.
The cardiologists use digital technology, along with intravascular ultrasound and intracardiac echocardiography, to guide them in sophisticated treatments that include angioplasty, atherectomy, stent placement (including drug eluting stents), and atrial septal defect closures. These procedures are some of the most recent breakthroughs in interventional cardiology.
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Before the test
- Tell your doctor what medicines you take and about any allergies you have
- Don't eat or drink anything after midnight, the night before the procedure
- You'll likely be admitted to the hospital on the day of the procedure
- Know that the skin where the catheter will be inserted may be shaved. You may be given medication to relax before the procedure
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During the test
- You will receive a local anesthetic to prevent pain at the insertion site
- The doctor inserts an introducing sheath into a blood vessel in your groin or arm
- Through the sheath, a long, thin tube called a catheter is placed inside the artery and guided toward your heart
- To perform different tests or check other parts of the heart, the doctor inserts a new catheter or moves the catheter or X-ray machine
- For some tests, a contrast dye is injected through the catheter
After the test
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Watch this short video to hear directly from Mercy-affiliated Interventional Cardiologist Arvin Arthur, MD, about what he enjoys most about his job, as well as some of the advancements he's seen in cardiology care at Mercy General Hospital and what patients can expect in the Cardiac Cath lab.
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Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following:
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Angina (chest pain)
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Pain, swelling, redness, bleeding or drainage at the insertion site
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Severe pain, coldness or a bluish color in the leg or arm that held the catheter
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Blood in your urine, black or tarry stools, or any other kind of bleeding
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Fever over 101.0°F
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