Cardiac Catheterizations

When you experience chest pain or other symptoms of heart disease, your health care provider may schedule you for a cardiac catheterization. Premier Health offers this nonsurgical, minimally invasive procedure, to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease, in specially equipped catheterization labs – or cath labs – at Atrium Medical Center, Miami Valley Hospital, Miami Valley Hospital North, Miami Valley Hospital South, and Upper Valley Medical Center.

Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterizations 

Cath labs are equipped with imaging technology that enables a board-certified interventional cardiologist to see how well blood flows to and from your heart, as the doctor guides a catheter, a tiny, flexible tube, through the arteries. Cardiac catheterizations enable cardiologists to diagnose arteries that are blocked or narrowed by a buildup of fatty deposits, called plaque, which can cause chest pain and heart attack – and to find other problems in the arteries and heart.

Interventional Cardiac Catheterizations 

Many cases of heart disease can be treated in Premier Health’s cath labs with interventional catherization procedures, such as:

Coronary angioplasty and stent placement. With angioplasty, also referred to as balloon angioplasty or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the cardiologist opens a blocked artery using a small balloon. The balloon, connected to a catheter, is guided through the artery and inflated to make room for a coronary stent. The stent, a small wire mesh tube or coil, is placed in the artery to keep the artery from narrowing or closing again.

Many but not all stents, are coated with medicine to help prevent arteries from narrowing again.

Coronary atherectomy, a procedure that removes built-up plaque, using a catheter with a rotating tip. Premier Health became the first health care provider in the region to use an advanced atherectomy technology, the Diamondback 360® Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System, at Miami Valley Hospital.

Contact Us

Every moment of your life depends on a strong, healthy heart. The Premier Health cardiology and vascular services team is here to help you, each beat of the way, with prevention, diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation services in our hospitals, outpatient centers, and medical offices across Southwest Ohio.