If our cardiologists are concerned about your risk of a heart attack, they might suggest coronary angiography. It is a test that would help us have a look at the arteries supplying your heart and find if there is a blockage of a coronary artery. You might already have unstable angina, chest pain, or signs of heart failure, which might prompt this diagnostic method. We would use a special dye to visualize your heart vessels and take X-rays to see blood flow through your heart muscle.
Cardiac catheterization is usually done in addition to angiography. In addition to your heart’s blood supply, this procedure would help the physician measure heart chamber pressures as well. The procedure might require mild sedation as well as a local anesthetic over the area the catheter is inserted. With hygiene being our priority, our trained cardiologist would insert a sterilized hollow tube, size of a needle, in your cleaned-up arm or groin region. The hollow tube is used to inject the contrast (dye) into the artery while an X-ray is used to visualize the contrast as it moves through your heart’s blood vessels. This procedure takes as little as 30 to 60 minutes and is not painful.