The left heart catheterization
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Left heart catheterization involves insertion of catheters into the left ventricle to interogate that filling pressures of the left heart. Left heart catehterization is used to diagnose and assess the severity of aortic stenosis, aortic insufficiency, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, mitral stenosis, and mitral insufficiency.