What is a heart cath?
A heart cath is when a cardiologist inserts a small camera into the heart to look at how well that organ is pumping. During the procedure you are awake and can watch on the monitors. The camera is usually inserted into the femeral artery and gives a view of the arteries to see if they are blocked and the chambers to see if there are holes or blockages. This catherization is usually done prior to insertion of balloons or stents to open arteries or open heart surgery to repair the heart muscle itself.
