Cardiac Catheterization is an invasive imaging procedure that allows your doctor to observe how well your heart is functioning. During the test, a long, narrow tube, called a catheter, is inserted into a blood vessel in your arm or leg and guided to your heart with the aid of a special X-ray machine. Contrast dye is injected through the catheter so that x-ray videos of your coronary arteries can be created.
Your doctor uses cardiac cath to:
- Evaluate or confirm the presence of heart disease
- Evaluate heart muscle function
- Determine the need for further treatment
Your doctor may also perform an interventional procedure to open blocked arteries after the diagnostic part of the cardiac cath is complete. Interventional procedures include balloon angioplasty and stent placement.