East Georgia Regional Medical Center's Cardiac Cath Lab and Angio Suite is one of the finest.  It features the highest level of technology available and a skilled staff that emphasizes a team approach.

Experienced physicians perform cardiac catheterization or angiography procedures using the lab's very specialized x-ray and monitoring equipment.  Cardiac Cathetierization and angiography are highly specialized diagnostic techniques that are performed hundreds of thousands of times each year in this country.  The complication rate is low, and the procedures are most often performed on an outpatient basis.

A long, narrow, flexible tube - called a catheter - is inserted through either the femoral artery in the groin or the brachial artery in the arm.  Before inserting the catheter, your doctor will administer a local anesthetic to numb the insertion site.

Patients will experience minimal discomfort and be under the constant care of skilled specialists. Patients are awake during the procedures, though they are usually given medication to help them relax.

Once the catheter has reached the point of interest, an x-ray camera ensures that it is positioned accurately.  Movement of the camera allows arteries to be viewed in three dimensions and from different angles.  An x-ray dye injected through the catheter fills the artery, allowing the physician to look for any blockages that may cause tissue damage.

A cardiac cath is a procedure in which a cardiologist uses the catheters to look for blockages in the arteries surrounding the heart.  The left ventricle, or pumping chamber of the heart, may also be viewed.  Angiography is a procedure performed by an interventional radiologist.  This procedure also uses catheters but looks at arteries in other parts of the body such as the abdomen, neck, legs or even the brain or other organs.

These procedures reveal how many (if any) blockages are present, where they are and how much of the blood flow is restricted.  Cardiac catherization and angiography provide accurate and comprehensive information about specific areas of interest, permitting your doctor to make informed treatment decisions.

The Cath/Angio Suite offers a complete line of diagnostic cardiac procedures performed by interventional radiologists such as:  venography, implantation of venous access devices, vascular angioplasty, stenting and pain management.

For more information about the Cath Lab, call 912.486.1315.