Cardiac Catherization: Procedure Checks for Arrhythmias and More

Cardiac catheterization, also called an Electro Physiology Study, is done on the heart by an electro-physiologist and cardiologist to test how dangerous arrhythmias are for a specific patient. This test aids doctors in finding out whether irregular heartbeats can link to more severe conditions, such as heart failure.

The EP Study requires an overnight stay in the hospital. It is a non invasive procedure, however potentially dangerous. First the hospital will give you an IV and a small amount of Versed which will give you a drowsy feeling and make it so the doctors can talk to you during the procedure but you won't really remember a thing. They start with the artery in one of your thighs. They cut a small incision and slip wires and sometime a miniscule camera up through the artery and slow proceed to wind its way up into the heart. The wires are used to push the heart into arrhythmias and cause irregular heart beats. Causing the irregular heart rhythms, gives the cardiologists the idea of what amount of stress it takes to put the heart and patient in danger. It also gives the cardiologist the ability to try medications through IV to help the arrhythmias to attempt to see what can stop the heart rhythms from becoming-life threatening. Occasionally during the study, you my wake up and feel your heart racing. Once the cardiologist realizes this than they will give you more versed to keep you out of it.

The procedure will end usually an hour and a half after it starts. They usually put a few bags of sand on the incision on the thigh to keep it from bleeding. After a few hours, they will get you up and walking and question you about how you felt and what they saw.

Ultimately the goal of the study is to test to see if a pacemaker or defibrillator is necessary to keep the patient from having heart failure or heart attacks due to arrhythmias. The EP Study itself is rather minor in comparison to other heart procedures. The catheter also allows your cardiologist to see whether or not the heart condition you have is severe enough to require a more drastic measure. The only time a Heart Catheterization is dangerous is if during the procedure the heart rhythms become so erratic that heart failure or attacks happen, however due to the doctors being right there the chance for death is very small if not impossible. However, due to the doctors being right there, the chance for death is very small if not impossible.