Coronary artery disease (CAD)- also called atherosclerosis - is the medical term to describe arteries that are blocked (occluded) by fatty deposits, diminishing the supply of blood to the heart. Left untreated, these blockages are dangerous and can cause heart attack, sometimes fatal.
Learn more about CAD. » Go
See an animation of cardiac cathaterization. » Go
Cardiac Catheterization:
What Is It?
This procedure is performed in one of Stamford Hospital's two brand-new catheterization labs. A small catheter (a long, thin, flexible, hollow tube) is threaded through a vein or artery into the heart. Injected dye travels through the catheter, taking moving x-ray pictures (angiograms) on its way to the heart. These pictures will identify and localize narrowings in the arteries, measure the size of the heart along with the inside chambers, and evaluate the pumping ability of the heart, the ability of the valves to open and close, as well as record a measurement of the pressures within the heart chambers and arteries.
How Do I Prepare?
Your doctor will give you instructions on how to prepare, which may include the following:
- Do not eat or drink after midnight the night before the procedure.
- Take only medications your doctor has told you to take. These can be taken with a sip of water the morning of surgery.
- Plan for your care and recovery after the procedure. Someone to drive you home after the procedure. Allow for time to rest for the first 24 hours.
- Stop smoking at least six to eight weeks prior to surgery as smoking delays wound healing. Smokers are also more likely to have breathing problems during surgery.
Click here for more information on cardiac catheterization. » Go
For more information or to make an appointment please call 1-203-276-4777.
For more information or to make an appointment please call
1-877-233-WELL (9355).