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