Pre-Admission Testing and Teaching for Cardiac Catheterization
If your physician has scheduled you for a cardiac catheterization procedure at UMC, it will be necessary for you to pre-admit for this procedure. This pre-admission can be performed up to 1 week prior to your procedure but SHOULD BE done NO LATER than 24- hours prior to your scheduled cardiac catheterization. Your pre-admission will be performed at the UMC Outpatient Center. When you arrive at the Outpatient Center, you will sign in at the front desk to await registration. Once you are registered, you will be taken to the Testing area where you will have lab work, EKG and sent to Radiology for a Chest X-ray, if needed. You will then be escorted to the Heart Center where a team member will interview you to obtain your medical history. Please be sure to bring with you a complete list of all medications, prescription and over-the-counter, that you are currently taking. Be sure to include the dosage of the medication(s) and how often you take each one. Before leaving the Heart Center, a team member will confirm with you the scheduled time of arrival for your cardiac catheterization.
Day of Procedure
Arrive at the UMC Outpatient Center at the designated time for your cardiac catheterization. You will sign in at the front desk to notify them of your arrival. If you did not pre-admit for necessary blood work and assessments, you will need to arrive 2 hours prior to your scheduled time to allow ample time to perform all the necessary steps before your exam can be initiated. Please bring no more than 2 visitors or family members with you for your procedure. There is very limited seating in the waiting area and we want your family members to be comfortable during their wait time while your procedure is being performed. You and your family members/visitors will be escorted from the waiting room to the area where the procedure will be performed. At that time, you will be asked to change into a hospital gown. Your clothes and valuables will then be given to your family member (or visitor) to keep while your procedure is being performed. The nurse will give you and your visitors an expected time frame of how long the catheterization will take and they will be escorted back to the waiting area. Please be sure to have a responsible adult remain at UMC throughout the entire length of the procedure.
Procedure
You will be taken to a private area where your medical history can be reviewed and consent signed. DO NOT BE ALARMED IF YOU ARE ASKED SIMILAR QUESTIONS by different staff on several occasions. This is used as a safety check before your procedure. It will be necessary to have an IV started at this time. A catheter may be placed to allow drainage of your bladder as necessary during your catheterization. Your vital signs must be monitored at all times during your procedure and the nurse will attach you to a unit that will automatically perform the monitoring. The cardiologist that will perform the catheterization will introduce himself or herself and will discuss with you the risks and benefits of the procedure. After that has taken place, the nurse will give you medication that will allow you to relax and relieve discomfort that you may experience.
Your groin area will then be cleaned with Betadine soap and the cardiologist will inject a local anesthetic (Lidocaine) to allow the area to numb. This may cause a stinging sensation for a few seconds until the numbness takes effect. A catheter (tube) will be placed into your artery and to better visualize your arteries, contrast (x-ray dye) will be injected. It is very normal for you to feel a warm sensation during this injection. Once this evaluation has been completed, the catheter will be removed from your artery. It is then necessary for a team member to hold pressure on that artery for 15-30 minutes to ensure that bleeding does not occur and clotting can form. The nurse will then take you to a recovery area.
Recovery Area
After arriving in the recovery area, your vital signs will be monitored and a nurse will assess you. You should not have any pain, only general discomfort from lying on the table. The nurse will check your surgical site for bleeding, as well as the pulses in your legs and feet. It is necessary for you to lie flat for at least one hour after the catheterization before you can raise your head. After that time, you will be allowed to eat. The remaining recovery time will be anywhere from 4 hours. You may have one visitor remain with you during this recovery time. The nurse will continue to periodically check your dressing and pulses during this time.
Post- Procedure
You will be given instructions specific to your procedure prior to your discharge. You must have a responsible adult to drive you home. You will not be allowed to go home in a cab or on a bus unless you have a responsible adult with you. These arrangements MUST BE made prior to the day of your procedure.