What are the risks of cardiac catheterization?

The risks of cardiac catheterization or "cath" are allergies to contrasting drugs, sensitivity to tape and infection. There may also be pain, bruises or severe bleeding at the catheter entry. Blood clotting, heart attack and pericardial effusion are possible risks and allergies to latex or kidney damage will affect a small number of patients. Alternatively, the catheter could damage the heart or blood vessels, cause arrhythmias or result in death. There is a minimal probability of serious or fatal reactions to this common procedure, but complications are more likely in much older patients, those who are extremely ill, diabetics or individuals undergoing catheterized heart repairs. For example, many individuals develop a slight fever about a day after being exposed to a contrast dye. The area in which the kata was inserted may also feel painful or swollen, and sometimes people need additional pressure bandages, as the place of insertion can continue to bleed. Several individuals also find that they have sensitivity toThe tape and develop rashes from the pressure bandage or tape used during the procedure.

Further risks of cardiac catheterization may be smaller or main. While the sensitivity to the tape usually means a rash, the latex allergy can be quite serious, due to the amount of latex exposure associated with most hospitalization. A minor response to the dye is problematic, but serious allergy to a contrasting dye can cause a serious systemic reaction. Diabetics can respond extremely poorly to contrasting material, causing the kidneys to turn off and require dialysis. Infections are another risk that may vary in severity; Small infection is easily manipulated by antibiotics, but large blood infections with an antibiotic resistant bacteria strain to be finely treated.

However, there are risks of cardiac catheterization, which are always serious. Sometimes the kata causes repeated arrrhythmia and damages the electrical paths of the heart. TORiver clots can form that can cause strokes, pulmonary embolism or heart attack.

The type of bruising and the retention of fluids, called pericardial effusion, can also build in a bag surrounding the heart that can prevent its function and require drainage. Even in Nondiabetics, the kidneys can overload and damage and any patient undergoing kata may be endangered by damage to blood vessels or heart structures. During this procedure, death may also occur, although only about 0.1% of patients are estimated.

If cardiac catheterization is used to repair heart defects or treatment of narrowed blood vessels, the risk of side effects tends to increase. On the other hand, repairs of this type are less and less dangerous than open hearts operations. In many cases, they have the advantages that they will be carried out without general anesthesia and may be less likely to cause infection. In the last few decades, a whole specialty called intervention has appearedCardiology and continue to develop new ways to treat heart problems with catheterization to prevent a more risky open heart surgery.

Patient selection carefully is an important part of the reduction of heart catheterization risks. Doctors must consider current health, age and medical history. Sometimes it determines that patients with increased probability of complications are better not to receive heart kata.