What is a heart cath?

Cardiac catheterization, also known as coronary angiogram, or "heart cath," is a procedure in which the coronary arteries and heart muscle are directly imaged under x-ray using iodine contrast dye. Cardiac cath is the "gold standard" for diagnosis of coronary disease. The procedure is usually performed through the femoral artery in your groin but is sometimes performed through the brachial artery on the inner aspect of your elbow. During a cardiac cath, your cardiologist administers local anesthesia to numb the groin, then inserts a thin, hollow catheter through the groin and advances it to the heart. Injection of contrast through the catheter under x-ray allows visualization of the coronary arteries. Blockages, or "stenoses" of the coronaries can be identified in this manner. Cardiac cath takes about one hour and can be done in an outpatient manner. However, if an angioplasty is performed at the same time as a heart cath, the patient is usually admitted to the hospital overnight for observation. All contrast dyes contain iodine. However, patients with a history of allergy to iodine can still undergo heart cath. These patients are usually pretreated with one or more days of oral steroids to suppress the body’s allergic mechanisms.