You should never ignore signs that something is going on with the health of your heart. This is especially true if you’re over the age of 60 or have risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity.
If symptoms of heart problems like shortness of breath or chest pain are left untreated, it can lead to serious health complications.
Fahmi Farah, MD, and her team at Bentley Heart offer cardiac catheterization in order to identify any heart problems.
Cardiac catheterization is a common and minimally invasive medical procedure that evaluates how well your heart is functioning. A catheter, simply a thin, long tube, is inserted into one of your large blood vessels – usually in your arm, neck, or leg – and followed to your heart using guided imaging. Dr. Farah can then use the catheter to gather whatever information is needed from your heart.
Cardiac catheterization can do a number of things for your heart health. If you’re having symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or extreme fatigue, cardiac catheterization can help get to the bottom of what’s causing it.
This procedure is able to:
If some blockages are found, cardiac catheterization can also be used to place stents in order to open the blockages.
Cardiac catheterization is a quick outpatient procedure that should take less than an hour. You’ll be given medications to relax through an IV, and Dr. Farah will numb the area where the catheter will be inserted.
Dr. Farah will then make an incision and thread the catheter through the blood vessel toward your heart. She’ll then be able to perform any tests or remove any heart tissue that’s needed for your specific health needs.
After the procedure, you’ll be able to schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss the findings of your cardiac catheterization.
If you’re needing to schedule a cardiac catheterization or would like more information on the process, our team at Bentley Heart – located in Fort Worth, Texas – would be happy to help. You can set up an appointment by calling our office at 817-720-5185 or by using our online scheduler today.