From the Experts

How sterile does the cardiac catheterization laboratory have to be? In the initial years of catheterization at The Cleveland Clinic, Mason Sones was seen performing the procedure in a sterile gown and glove with a sterile mosquito clip at his...

Retroperitoneal hemorrhage (RPH) is a potentially fatal complication and is most often related to invasive cardiac procedures using the femoral artery access route. RPH rarely occurs spontaneously. For cardiac cath procedures, RPH is more...

Our work in the cath lab moves forward when supported by better patient outcomes, better safety and better cost savings. Much of what we used to do in the cath lab has changed based on comparisons between groups of patients treated in the...

Technology and new information come to the cath lab nearly every month. The use of new stents and techniques in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (for example, bifurcation management or thrombus aspiration methods) continues to evolve....

Hemodynamic studies require accurate data collection technique. For complex cases we record simultaneous pressure waveforms, working with multiple transducers. I have had some questions from our staff as to what is the best and easiest way to...

Introduction Atherosclerotic plaques can develop in the early years of life and build up for years before they become clinically apparent. Often, an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the first indication of underlying atherosclerotic disease....

The issue of patient weight for performance of cardiac catheterization is no trivial matter. The excessive weight of the patient can damage the x-ray table, produce poor quality non-diagnostic images, expose the staff to excess radiation and...

Your diagnostic catheterization procedure turns into a PCI. The left anterior descending artery (LAD) is accessed with the 6F JL4 guide catheter. Your circulating nurse is drawing up the heparin. The operator then requests his equipment:...