The new catheterization lab brings ACMC one step closer to offering the region's first and only cardiac surgery program. This machine is a prerequisite for any facility desiring to offer an open-heart program. Now that we have it, we'll soon be able to perform every type of cardiac intervention a heart patient might need. A physician might recommend a cardiac catheterization for patients who experience pain or pressure in the chest or shortness of breath, or to evaluate heart failure or a heart murmur. The test measures pressures inside the heart, shows the condition of the coronary arteries and evaluates overall heart function.
Results help physicians make decisions about cardiac interventions.
ACMC has performed cardiac catheterizations for 12 years, but only on low-risk cardiac patients. High-risk patients should be catheterized in a facility where cardiac surgery is available immediately if the results show it is necessary. Cardiac catheterization can be done on an inpatient or outpatient basis. That number is expected to grow as ACMC's cardiac surgery program develops. During the procedure, a thin plastic tube, called a catheter, is inserted into a vein or artery in the patient's groin area, and is then passed through the blood vessel to the heart chamber or a coronary artery.