cardiac catheterization

Cath - Piece of cake!

by donr - 2013-01-28 05:01:46

Momma: All you have to do is lie there! They do the rest.

Prep is same as for a PM implant. They will give you the same sedation drug so you are in the twilight zone of consciousness. Usually they access your circulatory system via the Femoral artery in the leg. A catheter is inserted & wormed upward into the cardiac region. It can access all the blood vessels of the heart, as well as the interior of the heart. They monitor where the end of the catheter is on a real time fluoroscope. They squirt little puffs of a radio-opaque contrast dye into the area they want to examine & record on the computer what is seen on the fluoroscope. Takes about half an hour, total time while they are in you. They use the sedation because they have to talk to you & get answers to critical questions - like "What is the meaning of life?" & "How long is a piece of string?" You will not recall a single thing that happens during the procedure. They will put a pressure bandage on the entry point into the artery & you will have to lie still for about a half hour. No big deal, you'll still be a bit groggy for that long, anyway.

They will know about your Pm & be careful around its leads in your heart. But to be on the safe side, keep telling them "Be careful of my PM & its leads!" Unless they are blind, they will see them all very clearly on the fluoroscope.

BTW: You are authorized to be scared out of your tree about this thing.

Another BTW: you did not say WHY you are having the Cath procedure. Potential clogged coronary arteries? If so, & if they find them, they have the capability of inserting STENTS in clogged arteries to open them up & keep them open. They do it through the same catheter.

Best to you in this procedure.

Don