indications
Last reviewed 01/2018
Possible indications for cardiac catheterization include:
- the diagnosis and treatment (balloon angioplasty) of coronary artery disease
- the assessment and treatment (valvuloplasty) of valvular heart disease, however:
- echocardiography may be sufficient to measure pressure gradients across valves
- aortic stensis may prevent passage of a catheter across the aortic valve
- the investigation and treatment of congenital heart disease:
- catheterization may be useful in complex cases and may be used therapeutically for example using a balloon catheter to create an atrial septal defect in transposition of the great vessels
- cardiomyopathy:
- permits myocardial biopsy