Cardiac catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure your doctor uses to see images and get information about your child's heart and blood vessels from the inside. Your doctor can diagnose and sometimes treat heart problems with this procedure.

Cardiac catheterization is done to:

• Check on blood flow and blood pressure in the chambers of the heart.
• Check on blood flow in the coronary arteries as part of a coronary angiogram.
• Check on the pumping action of the heart.
• Find out if a congenital heart defect is present and how severe it is. Cardiac catheterization sometimes can also be used to help correct the defect.
• Check on blood flow through the heart after surgery.
• Find out how well the heart valves work.

Your child will get medicine to help your child relax or sleep.

The doctor then puts a thin tube into a blood vessel, typically in your child's groin or neck. This tube is called a catheter. The doctor will move the catheter through the blood vessel to the heart. A dye can be put into the catheter. The doctor can take X-ray pictures of the dye as it moves through your child's heart and blood vessels.

The doctor can also use the catheter to take blood samples and other measurements. The doctor may check how well the heart pumps blood and how well the valves work. Blood pressure in the heart and lungs may be measured.

If the doctor is going to repair a heart problem, special tools are moved through the catheter to the heart. The doctor uses these tools to repair the problem.

• Follow the instructions exactly about when to stop eating and drinking. If your doctor told you to take your medicines on the day of the procedure, take them with only a sip of water.
• Before the test, remove any necklaces, bracelets, rings, or other jewelry. You should also remove nail polish from your fingernails and toenails.
• Be sure you have someone to take you home. Anesthesia and pain medicine will make it unsafe for you to drive or get home on your own.
• If you take a medicine that prevents blood clots, your doctor may tell you to stop taking it before your test. Or your doctor may tell you to keep taking it. (These medicines include aspirin and other blood thinners.) Make sure that you understand exactly what your doctor wants you to do.
• Tell your doctor ALL the medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies you take. Some may increase the risk of problems during your test. Your doctor will tell you if you should stop taking any of them before the test and how soon to do it.

Test results will be reviewed by a cardiologist. The results will be available after the test. Your doctor will be able to talk to you about some of the results right away.

Results will include whether:

• Coronary arteries have narrowing or blockage.
• The heart's pumping action (ejection fraction) and pressures inside the heart chambers and blood vessels are normal.
• The heart valves are working as they should.

Many conditions can affect the results of a cardiac catheterization. Your doctor will discuss any significant abnormal results with you in relation to your symptoms and past health.