What is a heart catheterization (“cath”)?
A heart catheterization is a very serious, but common medical procedure used to diagnose heart disease. In this procedure, a catheter, or a small tube, is inserted into an artery in the groin. The tube is guided through this artery directly into the heart’s arteries, where a liquid contrast agent is injected. The doctor watches on a x-ray monitor as the contrast liquid travels through the arteries of the heart. If arteries are blocked or damaged, the doctor will be able to see it very clearly. Throughout this procedure, patients are awake but medicated for comfort. Not all cardiac cath labs are the same. While all cath labs perform heart catheterization procedures to diagnose blockages in the heart’s arteries, not all cath labs can perform the additional interventional procedures often used to correct those blockages. At EMMC, we are proud to offer you the only cath lab in this part of Maine that performs both diagnostic and interventional procedures. What that means to you is the safe
