The left heart catheterization
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Resident Survival Guide |
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Resident Survival Guide |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Cardiac catheterization refers to the insertion of hollow tubes (catheters) into various structures of the heart. When catheters are inserted specifically into the left ventricle, the procedure is called left heart catheterization. This procedure is to be distinguished from coronary catheterization in which catheters are inserted specifically into the coronary arteries. Important internal heart and lung blood pressures, not measurable from outside the body, can be accurately measured during the test. Left heart catheterization involves insertion of catheters into the left ventricle to interrogate 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.