ms

[t_ball]

i am going to have a right and left heart cath on fri of this week.  does that mean they will have to make a small cut on both legs to go in through the vein? they suspect heart valve damage. and maybe a blocked artery

[kenkeith]

For some insight, one or more caths are inserted through a peripheral blood vessel either the arm (artery or vein) or leg (femoral artery or vein) and guided to the heart with an x-ray.  The cath can be guided to all 4 major coronary on both the right and left side of the heart as well as the valves.  Cath of cardiac chambers and valves may be performed in the same round as a coronary cath, and may also involve nearby major vessels, such as the aorta.

Thanks for the question and if you have any further questions or comments you are welcome to respond.  

Ken