Clinical meaning
Cardiac catheterization is an invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in which a flexible catheter is inserted through a peripheral artery (usually the radial or femoral artery) and advanced to the heart under fluoroscopic guidance. The procedure allows visualization of coronary arteries by injecting radiopaque contrast dye (coronary angiography), measurement of intracardiac pressures, assessment of cardiac output, evaluation of valvular function, and therapeutic interventions such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with balloon angioplasty and stent placement. During PCI, a balloon-tipped catheter is positioned within the stenotic coronary segment and inflated to compress the atherosclerotic plaque against the arterial wall, restoring luminal diameter. A metallic stent (bare-metal or drug-eluting) is then deployed to maintain vessel patency. Drug-eluting stents (DES) release antiproliferative agents (everolimus, zotarolimus) that inhibit neointimal hyperplasia, reducing restenosis rates from 20-30% (bare-metal stents) to 5-10%. Complications include access site bleeding or hematoma, coronary artery dissection, contrast-induced nephropathy, allergic reaction to contrast dye, stroke, myocardial infarction, and death (less than 1%). The practical nurse monitors the patient pre- and post-procedure, assesses the access site, and recognizes complications.