Who Needs Cardiac Catheterization?

Cardiac catheterization is used to diagnose and/or treat various heart conditions. Doctors may recommend this procedure for a number of different reasons. The most common reason is to evaluate chest pain. Chest pain can be a symptom of coronary artery disease (CAD), and cardiac catheterization can show whether plaque is narrowing or blocking your heart’s arteries.

CAD can be treated during cardiac catheterization with a procedure called angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee). During angioplasty, a tiny balloon is put through the catheter and into the blocked artery. When the balloon is inflated, it compresses the plaque that has built up inside the artery. This creates a wider pathway for blood to flow to the heart. Sometimes a stent is placed in the artery during angioplasty. A stent is a small mesh tube that’s used to treat narrowed or weakened arteries in the body.

Most people who have heart attacks have partially or completely blocked coronary arteries. Thus, cardiac catheterization may be done on an emergency basis while you’re having a heart attack. When used with angioplasty, the procedure allows the doctor to open up blocked arteries and prevent more damage to your heart.

You also may have cardiac catheterization to help your doctor figure out the best treatment for your CAD if you:

• Recently recovered from a heart attack, but are having chest pain
• Had a heart attack that caused major damage to your heart
• Had an EKG (electrocardiogram), stress test, or other test with results that suggested heart disease

You also may need cardiac catheterization if your doctor suspects you have a heart defect or if you’re about to have heart surgery. The procedure shows the overall shape of your heart and the four large spaces (heart chambers) inside it. This inside view of the heart will show certain heart defects and help your doctor plan your heart surgery.

Sometimes your doctor may do a cardiac catheterization to see how well the valves at the openings and exits of the heart chambers are working. Valves control the flow of blood in the heart.

To evaluate the valves, your doctor will measure blood flow and oxygen levels in different parts of your heart. Cardiac catheterization also can check how well an artificial heart valve is working or how well your heart is pumping blood.

If your doctor thinks you have a heart infection or tumor, he or she may take samples of your heart muscle through the catheter. With the help of cardiac catheterization, doctors can even do minor heart surgery, such as repair certain heart defects.