Cardiologists perform a procedure known as cardiac catheterization to assess your heart’s functionality. Additionally, it can be used to locate issues and deliver a treatment for clogged or blocked coronary arteries.
In this blog, Dr. Monik Mehta explains the procedure of cardiac catheterization and helps you understand how you’ll prepare for and recover from it.
A cardiac catheterization is a procedure used to monitor the blood flow and pressure in and around the heart. It is often referred to as a “cardiac cath” or a “heart catheterization.” Further, it can be used to treat some heart diseases.
During a cardiac catheterization, you must check certain things:
• Check your heart’s four chambers for pressure.
• Observe the contraction of the chambers of your heart.
• Measure the oxygen levels in each compartment by drawing blood samples.
• Check your heart for any valve or chamber issues.
• A little sample of heart tissue from a biopsy
Things you may experience during cardiac catheterization
In a hospital’s cardiac catheterization (Cath) lab, cardiac catheterizations are carried out by a top cardiologist in Gurgaon and a group of nurses and technicians.
A nurse will insert an IV line into your arm to provide you with a sedative before the surgery. During the procedure, you’ll be at ease but aware and able to follow directions.
Additionally, a nurse will use a local anesthetic to numb the region and clean and shave the area where the catheter will be placed (often the wrist, groyne, or neck).
A sheath, a tiny tube, will be inserted by the physician into an artery or vein. Then, using the sheath as a conduit, they will carefully insert a catheter, an even smaller tube, into the blood vessel. The position of the catheter as it travels through the main blood veins to the heart will be shown on a television screen. While pressure could be present, pain shouldn’t be.
The catheter tip can then be fitted with a number of tools. Some of them are:
• Measure the blood pressure in the blood vessels that supply the heart as well as in each of the heart’s chambers.
• View the blood vessels’ interiors.
• Take blood samples from different cardiac regions.
• Take a cardiac tissue sample for a biopsy.
To take X-rays of your heart’s chambers, valves, and coronary arteries, the doctor may also inject contrast dye through the catheter. The procedure is known as an angiography.
After doing these exams, your doctor may decide to address an issue right away in some cases. Your doctor may conduct an angioplasty to treat a coronary artery segment that is blocked or narrowed.
During an angioplasty, a small balloon is used to expand your artery and clear any obstructions, improving blood flow. In order to keep the artery open, the doctor could additionally install a mesh tube known as a stent.
The catheter and sheath will be taken out at the conclusion of the surgery, and the site will be treated and protected to avoid infection.
After-Effects of Cardiac Catheterization
If the catheterization was performed via the groyne, you will be taken to a recovery room, where you will lie flat for a few hours after the treatment. You’ll be instructed to keep the nearest leg straight if the catheter was introduced through your groyne.
Meanwhile, a nurse will keep an eye on your blood pressure, heart rate, and any indications of chest pain, swelling, pain, or bleeding.
You’ll receive written instructions on how to continue your care at home before you leave the hospital. It’s critical that you carefully follow these directions, which include taking any recommended drugs.
You will be hospitalized, normally for one night for observation, if you have an angioplasty or stent placed in a coronary artery. At the puncture site, a minor bruise is typical.
Call your cardiologist doctor in Gurgaon right away if you experience any of the following symptoms:
• Enlargement of the bruise
• Fluid or swelling where the puncture was made
• Tingling or numbness at the location of the puncture
The procedure of catheterizing the heart is typically risk-free. Minor problems like bruising at the catheter insertion site are experienced by some people. Some people might have nausea from an allergic reaction to the contrast dye.
Additional potential dangers include a perforated blood artery, blood clots, and an irregular pulse. Your cardiologist in Gurgaon will go over any possible hazards and any additional precautions your team will take with you before the surgery.
To Book an appointment with our Cardiologist:
Dr. Monik Mehta (MBBS, MD, DM, FACC)
Interventional Cardiologist, Cardiologist, Cardiac Electrophysiologist
24*7 Helpline No. +91–9873214382
Email: heartcare@healthyheartsgurgaon.com
Website: www.healthyheartsgurgaon.com
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