Cardiac Catheterisation

What is cardiac catheterisation?

Cardiac catheterisation, which usually involves coronary angiography, is a procedure that is performed to obtain important information about the heart, including the position and severity of any narrowing in the coronary arteries. These are the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle.
 

What does cardiac catheterisation involve?

A thin flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into an artery or vein either in your wrist or groin. X-ray screening is used to guide the insertion of the catheter up to the heart. Fluid is then injected through the catheter, this allows the doctor to view your heart on the X-ray screen. You will have to lie flat on a x-ray table while this takes place. The procedure normally takes about half an hour and is usually a day case procedure.