Cardiac Catheterization

Question: Cardiac catheterization? will i be sleep for a Cardiac catheterization

Answer: No but you will be a bit dopey and certainly will not feel anything. Love Mel.X

Question: Is cardiac catheterization very intrusive? I have no clue on how catheters are put into ones body - I am very young... but I was wondering how intrusive a cardiac catheterization would be? Would it be recommended for a regular checkup to just do a catheterization or would the recovery time be too long? Is it just a simple small hole that is punched into your body that will heal up in a week, or worse?

Answer: There are various types of "catheters" that are put into ones body. Likely if you have visited someone in the hospital, you have noticed an intravenous catheter. Intravenous catheters are an example that are put into a vein and can be used to give fluids or medications. A cardiac cath. is similiar in that a catheter "sheath" is put into a large artery in the patient's leg. A guidewire and catheter is inserted that follows the artery to the heart. Intravenous contrast is injected through the catheter and moving xrays (called fluoroscopy) is used to look at the blood vessels that feed the heart as well as the structure of the heart itself. Because there is a risk of bleeding afterwards, patients are required to lay flat for sometime afterwards, however, if no complications or interventions (like placing a stent into an artery to keep it open) then the patient usually goes home the same day. The "hole" made by the catheter sheath usually heals in 4 or 5 days. However, In addition to the procedure being fairly invasive, it is also very expensive and, therefore, would not be done on a regular check up. A fairly new procedure that is much less invasive, however, still expensive is CT Scan cardiac angiography. It uses a CT Scan and the patient only requires a small intravenous catheter into their arm instead of the much larger one in the artery of the leg. The information from the CT procedure, some physicians believe is better and the potential complications, obviously are less, however, some insurances are reluctant to cover the procedure.

Question: How dangerous is a cardiac catheterization? Does a greenfield filter interfere with a cardiac catheterization procedure

Answer: It depends on if you are having a right heart cath, or a left heart cath. If it is a left heart cath, they will go in thru your artery in the groin. Your filter is in the vein, and those do not touch. A catheterization is a really safe procedure, much safer than surgery. They will insert an IV into the artery at the groin, most times. They will then send a wire into the heart to inject dye and take pictures. If you have kidney problems, you may have problems filtering the dye. They should do a simple blood test to make sure you are okay. If you have any problems with any types of anesthesia you should tell them also. There are always risks involved in all types of tests. With the cath they could poke through an artery wall, dislodge plaque or things like that. You could also have a reaction to the dye. These complications are usually very rare, less than 1%. Hope all goes well for you.

Question: How to get rid of a LARGE hematoma after Cardiac Catheterization? My mother had a Cardiac Catherization done due to blood clots. Three days after the Catherization she felt a bump, the size of a grape, on her upper thigh. Two days later the bump grew to the size of a large melon. Any ideas on how to make the hematoma go away? Do you know if it's possible to drain even though she is on blood thinners?

Answer: This size of haematoma absolutely needs surgical drainage with possible closure of any possible leak. You should not delay any more and you should take her straight back to the unit . With the size you described she may very well need a blood transfusion as well. Best of Luck.

Question: Can you die from a Cardiac Catheterization? What exactly happens when you get one? Can you die from getting the catheterization? I heard from a lot of people that you can. Thanks.

Answer: its HIGHLY improbable that you will die from a cardiac cath. you are being intensely monitored throughout and after the procedure. google cardiac cath to learn more about the procedure. i just dont feel like typing it out when it can easily be found. but seriously, you have a higher risk of dying due to a car crash on the way to and from the cardiac cath than you do dying from the procedure.

Question: How long does it take to get the results back from a cardiac catheterization? The reason I'm asking is because my father-in-law is having it done today, but they said they won't have the results until tomorrow. Does that make sence to you?

Answer: If I would have waited till the next day, well, I would not be answering this question. 100% Blocked LAD. Found and repaired all in one swoop. Thank God for that!! It doesn't make since to me, but i'm not a Doctor. Keep asking questions untill you get an answer you understand, if they get annoyed by your asking, get another Doctor.

Question: Why are services such as cardiac catheterization and electrocardiograms are found in? the Level II codes and not in the Level I codes?

Answer: Cardiac cath is very invasive & requires equipment & a nurse & doc trained in the procedure (high complexity); ECGs, while easy to do can be quite difficult to interpret & being wrong can have very bad consequences. Again, you need someone doing the test & a trained person (a doc) doing the final legal reading.

Question: can you get a cardiac catheterization test done and return to work in two days or less? I was thinking of having one done Saturday so I could be back at work on Monday and hopefully not miss a day of work.

Answer: Registered Nurse here; That would be a great big YES! providing there are no complications. In fact many go back to regular activities the very next day. Some the same day, which is discouraged, should not be done, and please don't be one that does. Follow your instructions to the letter after the procedure and you'll be fine. Thanks for the opportunity to answer your question.

Question: Does anyone know a place in which they donate money for surgery or help out with Cardiac catheterization costs My grandmother needs Cardiac catheterization, but she won't do it because they don't have enough money! I don't know how much it costs, but maybe there are sites like red cross or something that help with this sorta thing? A professional cardiac specialist told her it was very important to have this done, or she'd die! Please, please, please tell me anything you know about this particular subject!

Answer: Some nonprofit hospitals will greatly reduce or elimanate the costs to patients who have trouble affording care. Most hospitals have some one you can talk to that will help with finances. I highly recommend trying this.

Question: Has anyone out there ever had a Cardiac Catheterization done? I want to know the dangers of it.? I know someone who is getting one done soon and I just wondered how dangerous they can be.

Answer: On a scale of 1 to 10 about a 2. My friend just had one done a couple of weeks ago, was in and out in about 5 hours. Sometimes they will keep the person over night for observation if they have to put in a shunt (I think that's what it's called) He fully recovered from it in about 3 days. The only thing to be aware of after the fact is to not more around too much as you don't want the sutures to come out. He had a little bit of bruising where they did the incision on his leg.