WHAT IS CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION?
Cardiac catheterization is a medical procedure used to diagnose and treat certain heart conditions. It is mostly used to evaluate chest pain and also done during the heart attack to further discriminate narrowed coronary artery or coronary artery blockage.
Things to be aware of BEFORE CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION?
You should not eat or drink for at least 4 hours. Before the examination, please hand in the consent form; for you might be asked to do ECG and take some blood examples.
Things to be aware of DURING CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION?
A technician will help you to change your clothing into standardized medical garment before the examination. You will be given IV fluid through a needle injected into one of your veins, and the area of groin will be shaven. Afterwards, the doctor will insert a catheter into your heart through the vessel. During the procedure, your doctor may put a special dye in the catheter and the special x-ray movie is taken when the catheter moves into the heart.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION?
Cardiac catheterization is basically a common medical procedure that rarely causes serious problems though there are several potential complications: bleeding, infection, allergy of dye, acute renal failure, acute pulmonary edema, acute myocardial infarction, heart rupture, stroke, and possible death; usually it various according to patient’s individual condition.
Things to be aware of after CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION?
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Examined via groin artery or vein
After the examination, the patient will be asked to lie flat on the bed for 12 hours with a sand bag to compress the vascular access to prevent substantial bleeding or hematoma for up to 6-8 hours. Our staff will monitor your vital sign, pulse of the dorsal pedis artery, and if any bleeding from the puncture site.
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Examined via radial artery
The medical staff will wrap a double bandage on the vascular access to prevent bleeding; after brief resting, you can move around. The first bandage will be taken off 6 hours after the procedure and another 6 hours for the second bandage. Our staff will monitor your vital sign and constantly check on the vascular access to see if there is any bleeding. To prevent any bleeding, do not lift anything heavy or twist towels for the first three days.
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You may intake some food after the procedure; and you should drink more water to dilute the dye. If you feel chest tightness, chest pain, breathing difficulty, or unusual pain near the vascular access; or if you observe any redness or swelling around the wound, please inform our staff immediately.
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