Complications of Cardiac Catetherization

Cardiac catheterization was primarily a diagnostic procedure that was used to evaluate hemodynamics, ventricular function, and coronary anatomy. However, the introduction of improved angioplasty equipment and new interventional devices in the 1980s made catheterization an important tool in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Although diagnostic catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention are done by skin puncture rather than incision, and under local rather than general anesthesia, they can cause a variety of adverse events, ranging from minor problems without long-term sequelae to major complications requiring immediate corrective action. Furthermore, newer interventional procedures may be associated with different and, in some cases, more frequent complications.