A heart catheter may seem like a very scary thing to be faced with, however, by educating and preparing yourself and trusting your cardiac hospitals doctor, a catheter implant can actually be quite routine. If you are scheduled for a catheterization and are concerned about the process, you have come to the right place. This article details what to expected before and after a heart catheter is placed.
A catheterization will typically be performed in a specialized operating room with X-ray and imaging machines not commonly found in normal operating rooms. The procedure will be performed while you are awake, although you will be sedated. Typically, your nurse will attach you to an IV to give you fluids and any additional medicines you may need. Often they will also monitor your heartbeat via electrodes attached to your chest.
Before the Procedure
After you have checked in for your procedure a nurse or operating room technician might shave the site where the catheter will be inserted. A few minutes before the catheter is inserted your anesthesiologist will inject anesthetic into the site to numb it. You will likely feel the quick sting of the injection, but after that you should not feel the catheter for the rest of the procedure.
During the Procedure
Once you are numb, the catheter is inserted by making a small incision, usually in the leg, neck, or groin, to access the artery. A plastic sheath will be inserted into the injection to guide the catheter and protect the tissue around the catheter site. From this step, what happen next depends on the purpose of your procedure.
For instance, if you are having an angiogram, biopsy or right heart catheterization as some form of test, you may only have a special dye put through the catheter, a sample of tissue removed, or a sensor placed to monitor your heart and blood flow. On the other hand if you are going in for an angioplasty the catheter will be snaked through your artery to the blockage, and then a smaller balloon will be inserted through the catheter to open the artery and clear the blockage.
After the Procedure
Typically, patients recover from cardiac catheterization within a few hours. After the procedure is complete, you will be wheeled to a surgery recovery room to allow the anesthesia to wear off. The plastic sheath that was inserted to guide the catheter will usually be removed unless your doctor needs it to administer blood thinners.
At this point you may be taken to an outpatient room to allow the wound from the catheter to heal. The nurse that removed the catheter will apply pressure to the insertion sites to slow any bleeding, though you will need to lie still for a few hours so that the wound can heal. If you do not, it may tear and could cause serious bleeding.
A catheterization will typically be performed in a specialized operating room with X-ray and imaging machines not commonly found in normal operating rooms. The procedure will be performed while you are awake, although you will be sedated. Typically, your nurse will attach you to an IV to give you fluids and any additional medicines you may need. Often they will also monitor your heartbeat via electrodes attached to your chest.
Before the Procedure
After you have checked in for your procedure a nurse or operating room technician might shave the site where the catheter will be inserted. A few minutes before the catheter is inserted your anesthesiologist will inject anesthetic into the site to numb it. You will likely feel the quick sting of the injection, but after that you should not feel the catheter for the rest of the procedure.
During the Procedure
Once you are numb, the catheter is inserted by making a small incision, usually in the leg, neck, or groin, to access the artery. A plastic sheath will be inserted into the injection to guide the catheter and protect the tissue around the catheter site. From this step, what happen next depends on the purpose of your procedure.
For instance, if you are having an angiogram, biopsy or right heart catheterization as some form of test, you may only have a special dye put through the catheter, a sample of tissue removed, or a sensor placed to monitor your heart and blood flow. On the other hand if you are going in for an angioplasty the catheter will be snaked through your artery to the blockage, and then a smaller balloon will be inserted through the catheter to open the artery and clear the blockage.
After the Procedure
Typically, patients recover from cardiac catheterization within a few hours. After the procedure is complete, you will be wheeled to a surgery recovery room to allow the anesthesia to wear off. The plastic sheath that was inserted to guide the catheter will usually be removed unless your doctor needs it to administer blood thinners.
At this point you may be taken to an outpatient room to allow the wound from the catheter to heal. The nurse that removed the catheter will apply pressure to the insertion sites to slow any bleeding, though you will need to lie still for a few hours so that the wound can heal. If you do not, it may tear and could cause serious bleeding.