Cardiac catheterization is needed for two primary reasons.
The first is a diagnostic cardiac catheterization used to obtain detailed anatomic and functional information for a patient with congenital or acquired heart disease. This information, along with the information obtained by medical history, examination, ECG and echocardiogram, is used to plan the most appropriate therapy for a patient. The second is to perform an interventional cardiac catheterization to attempt to improve the function of the heart. Cardiac catheterization is a procedure to obtain detailed information about how a heart works and the anatomy of the heart. This information about the structure and function of a heart improves our ability to diagnose a patient's cardiac problems and plan the best therapy.