Catheter labs are a cross between a theatre and a x-ray room, and are specialist facilities used to carry out non-surgical procedures on the heart.
They contain a bed, a number of monitors/screens around the room and extra equipment specific to each procedure.
The team carry out both planned (elective) and emergency procedures, including angiograms and angioplasty for patients who have heart disease.
They are experts in carrying out complex procedures including transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), which replaces diseased heart valves in patients who have aortic stenosis.
Who you’ll meet in the cath lab
There are a number of different staff who work collectively in a cath lab environment.
These include doctors who will perform majority of the procedures, nurses, physiologists and radiographers.
There may also be healthcare assistants or medical students.
What sort of procedures are done in a cath lab?
There are a number of different types of procedures which can be done in a cath lab environment, these include:
- Pacemaker or defibrillator implants
- Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)
- Unblocking of furred up heart arteries (PCI)
We also carry out electrophysiology studies and treat patients with heart rhythm problems (atrial fibrillation).
Will I be awake for the procedure?
The majority of cath lab procedures are done under local anaesthetic, which means you will be awake and the area will be numbed with an injection.
We might give you some sedation / relaxing medication, as well as painkillers. These will be delivered through a needle in the back of your hand.
You might feel a bit sleepy, but this is not the same as a general anaesthetic.
If you do have a general anaesthetic, an anaesthetist will put you to sleep fully and take over your breathing.
How do you get referred to a cath lab?
Usually this will be through a cardiologist at the hospital or locally within the region. This will be on a planned basis with conversations between yourself and the cardiologist beforehand.
Patients experiencing chest pain may also come directly to the Freeman Hospital by ambulance for urgent treatment.
