Cardiac Catheterization

A cardiac catheterization is a specialized study to check the condition of the heart and coronary arteries, monitor the performance of the heart valves and check for any defects. It can help measure the heart’s functions, evaluate narrow or leaky heart valves and determine whether a patient might need angioplasty, stents or coronary bypass surgery.

This procedure is performed with a thin, hollow tube inserted into a blood vessel in the groin or wrist area and guided to the heart. Once there, the catheter can be maneuvered to different locations to provide information about a variety of cardiac conditions such as artery blockage or congenital heart defects. Sedatives may be given before and during the procedure for relaxation, and recovery takes place in a separate area pending discharge or admission into Kentucky River Medical Center, to transfer to another facility for intervention.

The process takes approximately 30-45 minutes, and same-day results may be provided. The patient and physician can use this report as a guide for a heart treatment plan.

Diagnosing Your Heart’s Condition

This is the critical first step in your care. At Kentucky River Medical Center, physicians have advanced diagnostic capabilities to help determine the condition of your heart. Below are the tests that we use to help determine the health of your heart.

• Cardiac Stress Testing
  Cardiac stress testing allows us to monitor your heart while you walk on a treadmill. If you are unable to walk, we use intravenous medications to increase your heart rate similar to walking on a treadmill. This test helps physicians evaluate the fitness of your heart.
• Echocardiograms (Echo)
  By using sound waves to record your heart’s internal structure, physicians can identify damage to the cardiac muscles and measure the movement, size and shape of your heart as well as functionality of your cardiac valves.
• Electrocardiograms (EKG/ECG)
  Electrocardiograms (EKG/ECG) provide a record of your heart rhythms. This data is used to help diagnose abnormal heart rhythm and/or damage to heart muscle.
• Holter Monitor Stress Test
  A Holter Monitor is a recording unit that monitors and records your heartbeat while you are at home for 24 – 48 hours. This allows you to move normally while the device gathers valuable data from your heart.
• Vascular Studies
  Vascular studies are noninvasive tests that check the blood flow in your arteries and veins using high-frequency sound waves (doppler ultrasound, sometimes called cardiac or vascular ultrasound) to measure the amount of blood flow in your blood vessels and identify blockages.

These cardiac tests are available in Jackson at Kentucky River Medical Center.

Some Cardiovascular Services Available Include:

• Diagnostic heart catheterization
• EVLT
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator
• Loop recorder implantation
• Pacemaker implant
• Radio artery procedures
• Tilt table
• Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE)

For more information about cardiac services available at Kentucky River Medical Center, call us directly at 606-666-6452.