Cath Lab

The Arizona Heart Hospital has four cardiac catheterization laboratories, including a dedicated suite for electrophysiology (EP) procedures.

Cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive, nonsurgical procedure used to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease and irregularities of the heart's electrical system. Other terms used to describe cardiac catheterization include coronary angiography, angiogram, cardiac cath and heart cath.

The procedure is performed by a cardiologist in a cardiac catheterization laboratory, often referred to as the cath lab. It is equipped with special instruments used for cardiac procedures. These include video monitoring screens, X-ray equipment, computers and other instruments. Patients are awake during cath procedures. A special X-ray camera moves at various angles above and around the patient so the arteries can be seen from different perspectives.

During a catheterization, a long, narrow, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into the arterial system through a small puncture in an artery in the groin area. The moving catheter can be seen with X-ray equipment, providing the physician with a "road map" of the arteries and a picture of the heart's pumping action.

Although cardiac catheterization is a highly specialized diagnostic technique, it is an extremely common procedure. Nearly one million cardiac catheterizations are performed each year in the United States.

Interventional Services
Atherectomy
Balloon Angioplasty
Balloon Valvuloplasty
Brachytherapy
Coronary Laser Angioplasty
Septal Defect Repair for Patent Foramen Ovale
Stenting
Thrombolysis

Electrophysiology Procedures
Electrical Cardioversion
Electrophysiology Studies
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) Implantation
Pacemaker Implantation
Radio-frequency Ablation
Tilt Table Testing