The Phoebe Cardiac Catheterization Lab is the region’s largest, and performs more than 3,000 cardiac procedures each year, with outcomes consistently at or above national standards.
The Phoebe Heart & Vascular Program was one of the first heart programs in Georgia to offer cardiac catheterization, a breakthrough procedure that revolutionized heart medicine.
Cardiac catheterization is a procedure used both for diagnosis and treatment of heart and vascular disease. It requires very little opening of the skin, and causes little disruption to the body.
During catheterization, the cardiologist inserts a very thin tube (a “catheter”) into the blood vessels (arteries and veins). The catheter is usually inserted through a very small incision made in the groin area, though it may also be done through the arm. The catheter can then be threaded through the blood vessel, positioning the tip of the tube either in the heart or at the beginning of the arteries supplying blood to the heart. By injecting a dye through the catheter into the artery, the cardiologist can actually watch what’s going on in the arteries with a type of “live action” X-ray machine called a fluoroscope.
Catheterization is both a diagnostic and treatment procedure
Catheterization can be used as a diagnostic process, called angiography, to find out how well the heart and its arteries are functioning and to obtain information about blockages.
The same basic procedure can also be used as treatment to clear blockages and open up arteries, using angioplasty, stenting and other treatments.