This is a procedure done on the heart. In it, a doctor inserts a thin plastic tube (catheter) (KATH'eh-ter) into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. From there it can be advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries. Catheters are also used to inject dye into the coronary arteries. This is called coronary angiography (an"je-OG'rah-fe) or coronary arteriography (ar-te"re-OG'rah-fe).

The ACC-CathKIT® is designed to provide managers and clinicians with the tools they need to run a quality cardiac catheterization laboratory. The focus is on teaching and implementing the quality principles on a daily basis. A quality cardiac catheterization laboratory is a combination of a strong quality assurance and continuous quality improvement program.

This procedure helps doctors to diagnose heart conditions such as coronary artery disease, defective heart valves, or congenital heart defects (defects you are born with). Cardiac catheterization also provides important information about the heart's pumping function.

It is indicated in the case of heart failure, severe ventricular arrhythmias or resuscitation from sudden death, inability to perform daily activities despite maximal medication therapy, and sometimes in the face of acute myocardial infarction. Many cardiac catheterizations are performed without sufficient indications. In fact, 60% of catheterizations are performed in patients who have NO heart disease.

Cardiac catheterization is a test used to evaluate your coronary arteries and heart valve function, It will identify the size and location of plaques that may have built up in your arteries from atherosclerosis, the strength of your heart muscle, and the adequacy of valve function. To start the cardiac catheterization, the interventional cardiologist threads a catheter (thin flexible tube) through a blood vessel in your arm or groin and into your heart.

A heart catheterization - otherwise known as heart cath, coronary angiogram or coronary arteriograms - is an invasive test done to determine whether there are any blockages in the coronary arteries or valvular heart disease. A small plastic catheter is inserted into the femoral artery and threaded up to the heart. X-ray dye is then injected into the coronary arteries and an x-ray is taken to show whether there is any narrowing or blockage of the artery.

Patients having heart catheterization are asked to fast from midnight the night before their test. We want you to take your usual morning medications, however, we ask that you do not take any medication for diabetes that morning. If you take Coumadin, you will need to be off this medication for three full days prior to the procedure. If you are allergic to iodine, be sure to let your physician or his nurse know as the "dye" does contain iodine.

Cardiac Rehabilitation is just what it says it is, rehabilitating your heart muscle after heart, thoracic or vascular surgery. It is basically a very good fitness program that is organized at established Cardiac Rehab Centers, but also can be individualized to you and done at home thereby eliminating travel. Rehabilitation can start in the hospital, but generally speaking the outpatient rehabilitation starts 2-3 weeks after you have gone home.

Cardiac death results when the heart and breathing cease to function. All organs and tissue in the body suffer from a lack of oxygen circulation and die. People who experience cardiac death are able to donate tissue after their death.

It can be quite helpful in establishing a specific diagnosis and estimating the severity of various cardiac diseases. It is important to recognize, however, that the ultrasound exam is only a part of the complete cardiac work-up.

The AED treats only a heart that is in ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. In other cardiac arrest situations, the heart does not respond to electric current but needs medications and breathing support instead. Also, AEDs are less successful when the victim has been in cardiac arrest for longer than a few minutes, especially if no CPR was provided.

In people of all ages, sudden cardiac arrest is an abrupt loss of the heart's ability to pump blood. In most cases, it is caused by a sudden arrhythmia, such as ventricular fibrillation, in which the heart's electrical impulses create a dangerous and chaotic heart rhythm. When this happens, the victim collapses and quickly loses consciousness as blood flow to the brain is stopped. Unless a normal heart rhythm is restored within minutes, the victim will die or will suffer brain damage.

A wide spectrum of cardiovascular abnormalities may cause sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes. A minor defect may become deadly if the heart is challenged and the electrical order of the heart is disrupted. Heart defects that may lead to cardiac arrest can be genetic or acquired due to a serious virus. Cardiomyopathy is the hidden heart defect that most commonly leads to sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes.

Generally, it is wise to avoid cesium if you have a history of cardiac arrhythmias, simply because arrhythmias have the potential to be fatal. You do not want to take anything that could have even the slightest possibility of triggering one, and no human studies have been run regarding cesium and that problem.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is one treatment option for some heart failure patients. CRT uses electrical impulses to help your heart pump more effectively. In a healthy heart, the chambers contract and relax in a coordinated way, or in synchrony. Heart failure can cause problems with the timing or coordination of your heart's contractions — especially in the ventricles (lower chambers). In other words, it can cause dyssynchrony.