Cardiac catheterization
A look inside the coronary arteries using a catheter and contrast dye. It confirms a blockage and, in the same session, can treat it.
What it measures
- What it measures
- A catheter entering through the wrist or groin injects contrast into the coronary arteries while they are filmed. It shows the exact location and severity of a blockage, along with pressures inside the heart chambers.
- Preparation
- Requires a prior assessment and diagnosis consultation. Fasting and recovery: variable depending on the diagnosis.
- What it feels like
- Done under local anesthesia with light sedation. You stay awake; you feel the puncture site and a passing warmth as the contrast goes in.
- Referral from another doctor
- No
- Results
- Variable depending on the diagnosis
- Where it is done
- At the hospital
What it shows
Front view: the patient right side is on the left of the drawing. The diagram shows the two possible entry points, not which one is used or on which side — that depends on each case. It does not draw the arteries of the heart and declares no measurement.
- 01
- Wrist. One of the two entry points. The artery is punctured and the catheter goes in there; you are awake the whole time.
- 02
- Groin. The other entry point. The route to the heart is shorter than from the wrist.
- 03
- The route. The catheter travels inside the artery, with no cuts or wounds along the way. The inside of an artery does not hurt.
- 04
- Look. It is where the catheter is heading and what the test always does: see the state of the arteries of the heart.
- 05
- Treat. If a lesion that warrants it is found, it can be treated in the same session without leaving the room. It does not always happen: it is a decision made there.
Catheterization has the final word on the coronary arteries. Non-invasive tests suggest a blockage is probably there; this one shows which artery, at which point, and how tightly closed.
What sets it apart is that diagnosis and treatment can happen in the same session: if a lesion warrants it, it can be opened and stented without leaving the room.
It is an invasive procedure, indicated when the information it provides changes a decision. It is not a routine or screening test.