Cardiac Catheterization

Summit Healthcare offers cardiac catheterization to see if you have a heart problem, or as part of a procedure to correct a heart problem your doctor already knows about.

If you are having cardiac catheterization as a test for heart disease, your doctor can:

• Locate narrowing or blockages in your blood vessels that could cause chest pain
• Find out the amount of oxygen in your heart
• Test the pressure inside your heart
• Diagnose heart defect present from birth
• Look for problems with your heart valves

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure used to diagnose and treat cardiovascular conditions. During the procedure a long thin tube called a catheter is inserted in an artery or vein in your groin, neck or arm and threaded through your blood vessels to your heart. Using the catheter, doctors can conduct diagnostic testing as part of a cardiac catheterization. Some heart disease treatments, such as coronary angioplasty and stent insertion, also are done using cardiac catheterization.