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com/Cardiac+catheterization+indications

Are there alternatives?

In discussions of risks and benefits, one also has to consider the alternatives to catheterization. Depending on the circumstances, "non-invasive" studies such as echocardiograms, treadmill stress tests, nuclear cardiology studies, and other techniq provide important information about the heart. Each of these have a role in certain circumstances, a subject which is well beyond the scope of this discussion. Undoubt your physician has considered these alternatives in your particular situation, but you need to ask him/her specifically why these alternatives are not felt to be more approp your case.

Remember, you are ultimately the one who decides on which test, if any, is done to y should not feel uncomfortable at all about asking.

Alternatives to Cardiac Catheterization

Heart Catheterization Procedure

Several tests are available to diagnose or look for poss heart disease. The choice of which and how many te problems and current symptoms.

The alternatives to cardiac catheterization can give they do not give the in-depth information that a cardia tests include: Echocardiogram Exercise stress test.

These also proceed to tests that are more complicated, Transesophageal echocardiogram (EEG) CT scan or MRI Nuclear scan stress test Stress thallium

Spiral CT (computed tomography) scanning

At this time, cardiac catheterization is the most accura identifying the location, number, and severity of blocka

catheterization provides in-depth information about he

Who Needs Cardiac Catheterization?

Cardiac catheterization is used to diagnose and/or treat many heart conditions. Doctors may recommend this procedure for various reasons. The most common reason is to evaluate chest pain.

Chest pain may be a symptom of coronary heart disease (CHD). Cardiac catheterization can show whether plaque is narrowing or blocking your heart's arteries.

Doctors can treat CHD during cardiac catheterization with a procedure called angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee). During angioplasty, a tiny balloon is put through the catheter and into the blocked artery. When the balloon is inflated, it pushes the plaque against the artery wall. This creates a wider pathway for blood to flow to the heart.

Sometimes a stent is placed in the artery during angioplasty. A stent is a small mesh tube that's used to treat narrowed or weakened arteries in the body.

Most people who have heart attacks have partly or completely blocked coronary arteries. Thus, cardiac catheterization may be done on an emergency basis while you're having a heart attack. When used with angioplasty, the procedure allows your doctor to open up blocked arteries and prevent more damage to your heart.

Cardiac catheterization also can help your doctor figure out the best treatment for your CHD if you:

Recently recovered from a heart attack, but are having chest pain Had a heart attack that caused major damage to your heart Had an EKG (electrocardiogram), stress test, or other test with results that suggested heart disease

You also may need cardiac catheterization if your doctor suspects you have a heart defect or if you're about to have heart surgery. The procedure shows the overall shape of your heart and the four large spaces (heart chambers) inside it. This inside view of the heart will show certain heart defects and help your doctor plan your heart surgery.

Sometimes doctors do cardiac catheterization to see how well the valves at the openings and exits of the heart chambers are working. Valves control the flow of blood in the heart.

To check your valves, your doctor will measure blood flow and oxygen levels in different parts of your heart. Cardiac catheterization also can check how well a man-made heart valve is working and how well your heart is pumping blood.

If your doctor thinks you have a heart infection or tumor, he or she may take samples of your heart muscle through the catheter. With the help of cardiac catheterization, doctors can even do minor heart surgery, such as repair certain heart defects.

Some of the indications for cardiac catheterization procedure are -

Unstable angina or after a heart attack] Heart attack Before a bypass surgery Abnormal

Chest pain [uncontrolled with medications or

treadmill test results Determine the extent of coronary artery disease Disease of the heart valve causing symtpoms (syncope, shortness
of breath)

heart transplant patients Syncope or loss of consiousness in patients with aortic valve disease
To monitor rejection in Allergy to contrast (dye) medium Uncontrolled Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Problems with blood coagulation (Coagulopathy) Kidney failure or dysfunction Severe anemia Electrolyte imbalance Fever Active systemic infection Uncontrolled Uncompensated heart failure Transient Ischemic attack

Some of the relative contraindiciations for cardiac catheterization are

rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias)

Read more: Indications And Contraindications http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/cardiac-catheterization-IndicationsContraindication.htm#ixzz1T4kmbmWR