A heart catheterization, or cath, is a procedure used for both diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects. The procedure allows physicians to see how blood flows through the heart chambers and arteries. According to Dr. Patrick Withrow, cardiologist with The Heart Group, the main purpose of performing a heart cath is to view the condition of the blood vessels in the heart and determine treatment.

Dr. Withrow explains that to perform a heart cath, a thin flexible tube—called a catheter—is threaded through a blood vessel in the groin and into the heart. Through the catheter, the physician can measure pressure, take blood samples, and inject a special dye into the chambers of the heart or the coronary arteries. The physician then watches movement of the dye through the heart’s chambers and blood vessels.

The purpose of cardiac catheterization is to determine whether you have disease in your coronary arteries. The doctor can then pinpoint the size and location of plaque that may have built up in your coronary arteries from atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries.

If your coronary arteries are blocked, your doctor can sometimes use the catheter to open them and restore normal blood flow to your heart. This is called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Coronary stenting is one of the most common types of PCI procedures.

A stent is a small stainless-steel mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to provide support inside your coronary artery. A balloon catheter, placed over a guide wire, is used to insert the stent into the narrowed coronary artery. Once in place, the balloon tip is inflated, and the stent expands to the size of the artery and holds it open. The balloon is deflated and removed, and the stent stays in place permanently. Over a several-week period, your artery heals around the stent. According to Dr. Withrow, the use of drug-coated or drug-eluting stents is preventing arteries from becoming blocked again in patients at Western Baptist Hospital.

Dr. Withrow explains that heart catheterization is generally done to determine whether a patient may need PCI or bypass surgery, a procedure performed to bypass a portion of an artery that has been narrowed or blocked by plaque buildup.

“Whether a patient comes into Western Baptist for a heart cath or open-heart surgery, he or she can be assured of receiving quality care by caring professionals dedicated to the health of our community,” says Dr. Withrow.