Cardiac Catheterization

Experts at our Medical Center in Worcester, MA, use catheter-based techniques to diagnose and treat various forms of heart disease without surgery. Many of our procedures are done using the radial approach (inserted in the wrist), which has been shown to cause less discomfort and reduce recovery time.

Our cardiologists perform more than 3,000 cardiac catheterization procedures each year, which means a high rate of success for our patients. 

Cardiac catheterization to diagnose heart disease

Diagnostic cardiac catheterization (also called cardiac cath or coronary angiogram) allows your doctor to see how well your heart and blood vessels are functioning. The test involves inserting a long, narrow tube — a catheter — into a blood vessel in your leg or wrist, then guiding it to your heart with the aid of a special machine. Your doctor uses this procedure to:

• Evaluate or confirm coronary artery disease, valve disease or disease of the aorta
• Evaluate heart muscle function
• Determine if further treatment, such as an interventional procedure or coronary artery bypass graft, is needed

Cardiac catheterization to treat heart disease

Interventional cardiac catheterization is a nonsurgical treatment used to open narrowed coronary arteries to improve blood flow to the heart. Interventional cardiac catheterization procedures include:

• Balloon angioplasty
• Balloon angioplasty with stenting
• Stenting
• Rotablation
• Atrial septal defect /patent foramen ovale closure