Cardiac Catheterization

Coronary Angiography, Heart Catheterization

Why It Is Done

Cardiac catheterization and coronary artery disease

Cardiac catheterization is done to:

• Check blood flow and blood pressure in the chambers of the heart.
• Check blood flow in the coronary arteries and, if you have coronary artery disease (CAD), determine whether surgery or another type of procedure, such as angioplasty with stenting, is needed to open the blocked blood vessels.

Other reasons for having a cardiac catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is also done to:

• Check the pumping action of the heart.
• Find out if a congenital heart defect is present and how severe it is. Cardiac catheterization sometimes can also be used to help correct the defect.
• Check blood flow through the heart after surgery.
• Find out how well the heart valves work.

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Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS Robin Parks, MS	Last Updated: September 13, 2007
Medical Review:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
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