How serious is a Heart Catheterization?!
Question: How serious is a Heart Catheterization!?
My dad is 45 years old and has to have a heart catheterization done on the 29th!. I'm just wondering how serious it is!. I DO know how it's done!. But I'm not sure how serious it is!. Both of my grandpas have had them, but it was years ago and I was only about 15 or 16!. I'm almost 20 now!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
Cardiac catheterization involves passing a catheter (a thin flexible tube) into the right or left side of the heart!. In general, this procedure is performed to obtain diagnostic information about the heart or its blood vessels or to provide treatment in certain types of heart conditions!.
Cardiac catheterization can be used to determine pressure and blood flow in the heart's chambers, collect blood samples from the heart, and examine the arteries of the heart with an x-ray technique called fluoroscopy!. Fluoroscopy provides immediate ("real-time") visualization of the x-ray images on a screen and provides a permanent record of the procedure!.
Cardiac catheterization carries a slightly increased risk when compared with other heart tests!. However, the test is very safe when performed by an experienced team!.
Generally, the risk of serious complications ranges from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 500!. The risks include the following:
* Cardiac arrhythmias
* Cardiac tamponade
* Trauma to the artery caused by hematoma
* Low blood pressure
* Reaction to contrast medium
* Hemorrhage
* Stroke
* Heart attack
Considerations associated with any type of catheterization include the following:
* In general, there is a risk of bleeding, infection, and pain at the IV site!.
* There is always a very small risk that the soft plastic catheters could actually damage the blood vessels!.
* Blood clots could form on the catheters and later block blood vessels elsewhere in the body!.
* The contrast material could damage the kidneys (particularly in patients with diabetes)!.
In 1929, in Eberswalde, Germany, a 25-year-old surgical trainee named Werner Forssmann was the first to pass a catheter into the heart of a living person
Cardiac catheterization can be used to determine pressure and blood flow in the heart's chambers, collect blood samples from the heart, and examine the arteries of the heart with an x-ray technique called fluoroscopy!. Fluoroscopy provides immediate ("real-time") visualization of the x-ray images on a screen and provides a permanent record of the procedure!.
Cardiac catheterization carries a slightly increased risk when compared with other heart tests!. However, the test is very safe when performed by an experienced team!.
Generally, the risk of serious complications ranges from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 500!. The risks include the following:
* Cardiac arrhythmias
* Cardiac tamponade
* Trauma to the artery caused by hematoma
* Low blood pressure
* Reaction to contrast medium
* Hemorrhage
* Stroke
* Heart attack
Considerations associated with any type of catheterization include the following:
* In general, there is a risk of bleeding, infection, and pain at the IV site!.
* There is always a very small risk that the soft plastic catheters could actually damage the blood vessels!.
* Blood clots could form on the catheters and later block blood vessels elsewhere in the body!.
* The contrast material could damage the kidneys (particularly in patients with diabetes)!.
In 1929, in Eberswalde, Germany, a 25-year-old surgical trainee named Werner Forssmann was the first to pass a catheter into the heart of a living person
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