Has Your Doctor Recommended Cardiac Catheterization

If your doctor has recommended cardiac catheterization, you might be suffering from a particular cardiovascular condition. At Advanced Cardiovascular Care, Dr. Syed W. Bokhari carries out cardiac catheterization in Riverside to assess the arteries’ state and diagnose any related complication. The procedure involves inserting a long thin tube known as a catheter in your artery or vein through your groin, arm, or neck. The line is threaded to your heart through your blood vessels.

Top Reasons for Cardiac Catheterization

Your doctor uses cardiac catheterization as a diagnostic test. It can similarly be used to manage some heart complications such as coronary stenting and coronary angioplasty. The following are the main diagnostic reasons why your doctor needs to perform the procedure:

  •       To look for issues within your heart valves.
  •       To diagnose some congenital heart defects.
  •       To take a sample of tissue from your heart.
  •       Assess the pumping function of your heart.
  •       Evaluate the pressure and oxygen levels in different parts of your heart.
  •       Locate any blockage or narrowing of blood vessels that could be causing chest pain.

As mentioned earlier, cardiac catheterization can also be used in some treatment procedures for heart disease. The specific reasons to use the method to manage the condition include:

  •       To treat irregular heart rhythms with ablation.
  •       To widen a narrowed artery.
  •       To close holes in the heart.
  •       To replace or repair heart valves.
  •       To open narrowed heart valves.
  •       To close off some parts of your heart that may be causing blood clots.

How to Prepare for Cardiac Catheterization

First, you need to book a consultation appointment with your provider to discuss if cardiac catheterization is suitable for you. If your provider finds the procedure ideal for you, you will require to prepare adequately before your test. Your provider will guide you accordingly.

It would help if you neither drink nor eat anything for at least six hours before your procedure or otherwise, as your provider advises you. Having a full stomach can increase your complications from anesthesia. If you are to take some medications, you should ask your doctor about the amount of water you should drink. Note that you will be in a position to eat and drink soon after the procedure.

You may be required to stop some medications that can thin your blood and cause much bleeding. If you have diabetes, it will help to ask your doctor about diabetic drugs and insulin. If you are taking rivaroxaban, dabigatran, apixaban, aspirin, and warfarin, you should stop taking them a few days before your procedure.

Please take all your medications and any supplements to your doctor in their original package. It will help your provider to know exactly what you have been taking and make decisions respectively.

If you are pregnant or planning to be pregnant, please inform your doctor before having the test.

Risks Associated with Cardiac Catheterization

As with most procedures, particularly those involving your heart and blood vessels, several risks are associated with cardiac catheterization. However, most of the complications are rare. They include:

  •       Bleeding
  •       Bruising
  •       Stroke
  •       Heart attack
  •       Irregular heart rhythms
  •       Infection
  •       Damage to the heart or arteries
  •       Blood clots

You can learn more about cardiac catheterization by speaking to an expert such as Dr. Bokhari. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Advanced Cardiovascular Care.