Our Services
Cardiac Services
Catheterization Lab
A new cardiac catheter lab allows Stevens cardiologists to treat heart-related emergencies faster than ever before. Cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive, nonsurgical procedure used to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease and irregularities of the heart’s electrical system. Other terms used to describe catheterization include coronary angiography, angiogram, cardiac cath and heart cath.
The procedure is performed by a cardiologist in a cardiac catheterization laboratory, often referred to as the cath lab. It is equipped with special instruments used for cardiac procedures. These include video monitoring screens, x-ray equipment, computers and other instruments. Patients are awake during cath procedures. A special x-ray camera moves at various angles above and around the patient so that the arteries can be seen from different perspectives.
During a cath procedure, a long, narrow, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into the arterial system through a small puncture in an artery in the groin area. The moving catheter can be seen with x-ray equipment, providing the physician with a “road map” of the arteries and a picture of the heart’s pumping action.
Although cardiac catheterization is a highly specialized diagnostic technique, it is an extremely common procedure. Nearly 1 million cardiac cath procedures are performed each year in the U.S.
