Cardiac catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure used to diagnose and treat heart conditions. This nonsurgical method can be used to determine if you have heart disease, check your heart muscle function or expand narrowed arteries to improve blood flow to the heart.

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Cardiac catheterization in West Palm Beach, Florida

We offer a specialized Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab) in Lake Worth, Florida, where you can receive minimally invasive heart care.

The HCA Florida JFK Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute offers a range of diagnostic procedures and treatments, including angioplasty and stenting. We also have a dedicated post-interventional unit with highly trained staff in preoperative and postoperative cardiac interventions. These services are designed to take care of you from your first symptoms or signs of heart disease all the way through your treatment and recovery.

Interventional cardiology

As an extension of our cardiology services, our Cath Lab offers a range of minimally invasive procedures, including:

Coronary angiogram, including left ventriculograms and other angiographies
Intra-aortic balloon pump insertion
Intravascular ultrasound
Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) for heart arrhythmias
Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), such as angioplasty, coronary stenting and atherectomies
Pericardiocentesis
Right and left heart catheterization
Temporary pacemaker insertion
Thrombolytic therapy

Atherectomy

An atherectomy uses a special catheter that has a small, rotating device at its tip that shaves and removes plaque from the artery. Once the plaque is removed, the artery is sufficiently opened to restore blood flow.

Stenting

If an artery that has been opened should happen to close or re-narrow, a device called a stent may be inserted to hold the vessel open. It is a small, metal tube that is expandable and holds the artery open to allow blood flow.

Stent with balloon angioplasty

In our Cath Lab, we perform the highly complex stent with balloon angioplasty procedure to widen clogged or narrowed arteries and/or veins. This procedure is performed after a buildup of cholesterol is identified and is partially blocking blood flow in one of your arteries.

In this procedure, the stent mounts onto a deflated balloon. When the catheter has positioned the balloon at the blockage site, the balloon is inflated and the stent expands. The balloon and catheter are then removed, leaving the stent in place to keep the artery open.

What is cardiac catheterization?

Cardiac catheterization is a medical subspecialty and widely used term to describe minimally invasive, interventional cardiology procedures.

Heart catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is first and foremost a diagnostic tool. However, it is a very useful method when performing procedures like angioplasty and stenting. So, together with advanced heart screening and imaging techniques, these procedures are used to both diagnose and treat certain types of heart disease.

A heart catheterization, or cath exam, is a diagnostic X-ray imaging procedure. It allows your physician to see if any of your coronary arteries have blockages and to evaluate the function of your heart valves.

The procedure involves inserting a catheter (very thin tube) into an artery or vein, typically beginning near the groin, and threading it along your blood vessels to your heart. Once there, your cardiologist is able to identify any blockages, measure heart function, perform a biopsy and measure oxygen levels in the different chambers of your heart.

Heart catheterization