Cardiac catheterization test

[Chicken Little]

I just got called to come in and do all the heart tests for transplant.     

Has anyone had a cardiac catheterization test and what's it like?  Do they put you out? 

[Sluff]

The one I had was they used a local on my groin area and made a tiny incision, then inserted a very thin wire with a camera lens at the end to go up into my heart. It's scary but you don't feel anything. Only the entrance stings a little and they stitch you up when they are done. Then you get to see what the inside of your heart looks like. If it is a heart cath your getting.

[Ohio Buckeye]

I had one in May.
They numbed the groin spot where they put the needle and gave me something in the oxygen
line that relaxed me and made me drowsy but I was awake. 
They opened a heart artery and leg blockage. 

[Chicken Little]

The one I had was they used a local on my groin area and made a tiny incision, then inserted a very thin wire with a camera lens at the end to go up into my heart. It's scary but you don't feel anything. Only the entrance stings a little and they stitch you up when they are done. Then you get to see what the inside of your heart looks like. If it is a heart cath your getting.

That's what it sounds like I'm getting.  It's just a test, I haven't been having problems. 

I'm so excited.  When I had my evaluation, they said they don't order these tests until you have moved way up the list.   I hope that's the case for me. 

[Chicken Little]

I had one in May.
They numbed the groin spot where they put the needle and gave me something in the oxygen
line that relaxed me and made me drowsy but I was awake. 
They opened a heart artery and leg blockage. 

I hope everything is going well now.  Did they find those problems during the test or did they go in just to fix them?

[Rerun]

The dye will do a number on your kidneys.  If you have any function left.  I guess the wire thing may not but if they use dye it will.  They kept telling all the other patients drink 8 to 10 glasses of water when you get home.  Well, I couldn't do that.  My kidney function dropped to nothing after that test.

But, ya gotta do what ya gotta do to get a transplant.

[Ohio Buckeye]

I'm glad Rerun mentioned that because I'd forgotten to mention that I had to take 4 doses of
medicine, 2 the day before the procedure, 1 the morning of, and 1 afterwards, that was to protect
the kidney function I have left from being damaged by the dye.  It was 4 little bottles of liquid
medicine.  I don't think my function changed. I still had a small function left.  I think the following
day I had very little urine but I was hardly drinking or eating.  Be sure to ask about it if you have any
kidney function left. 

I am doing better.  I had a huge foot ulcer on my heel and 2 toes messed up and they suspected a leg blockage
cause I was not healing.  The heart one I did not know I had but I was very tired and weak but thought
it was my foot problem draining me.  Then they checked the heart also while they were there and one of
the major arteries was 95pc blocked and they got it opened up.

I was fortunate.  I called and asked the dr. to move it up a week because I felt so bad.  I didn't feel like I was
going to last another week.  I could hardly walk to get to the car to get there.  Nlow I am getting stronger
and my foot is slowly healing, very slowly.  I feel fortunate I did not have a heart attack or lose my foot.  It
still looks bad but dr. is optimistic.  Thanks for asking and your concern.

The catherization is not as bad as I thought it would be.  It is scary to think about messing with the heart.
But I guess it is a real common procedure now.
If you have any k. function left be sure to ask about the medicine doses.

[Chicken Little]

Thanks so much for the heads up.  I still have about 10%, so I definitely want to preserve that.  I'll make sure to get that medicine.  Besides, I just love looking at the doctors/nurses reaction when I say, "I found out on the internet that ......"   

[Ohio Buckeye]

Yes.  LOL

[kitkatz]

The hardest part of the heart cath was the nurse holding the groin site for thirty minutes afterwards to stop the bleeding.  They were almost on top of me to get the bleeding to stop.  Not a bad procedure.  When you have no function left they kind of laugh at your worries about damaging your kidneys with their dye.

[MiSSis]

I've had 13 (yes, 13) cardiac caths and  I have 10 or 12 stents in my heart (I've lost count).  The first couple of times I had the caths done with just the local anesthetic at the insertion site in the groin.  If your doctor allows it (and mine did), I actually was able to view the monitor as he performed the test.  Pretty cool.  But I'm such a chicken when it comes to needles and locals that I now make it very clear that I don't want to know anything that's going on.  My cardiologist gives me a pre-procedure dose of Valium and then gives me Versed for the test itself.  As I understand it, Versed doesn't actually put you out but it has an amnesia side effect so that I never remember anything about the procedure afterwards.  My doctor also uses some sort of a collagen "plug" at the insertion site which has eliminated the need for the sandbags and heavy pressure to stop the bleeding that occurs.  The "plug" just sort of dissolves in about 4 to 6 weeks following the test.  I've also received pro-procedure medication to help my kidneys process the dye and even when my transplant was still working my doctor used as little dye as possible to try and prevent any problems.

[Rerun]

Oh, yeah and you have to have a huge bag of SAND on your incision for about 6 hours!!!  AND you need someone at home with your for the first 24 hours.  I had to lie and say I have someone at home!   

[Ohio Buckeye]

They didn't use sandbags with me.
She held pressure for a while then put a belt on me that put pressure there.
I'm not sure they do the sandbags anmore here.

[Chicken Little]

OK.  I guess I can't whine about having 1 when MiSSis has had 13, but after reading step by step details of the procedure online I'm sooooo wishing I didn't have internet access.  I'm more scared of this than the transplant. 

I asked one of the neph's at my clinic about the dye killing kidney function and he said, "What does it matter?  You're already on dialysis."  WTF?!!!  I'm glad he has nothing to do with it.  I'll just discuss it with the cardiologist. 

Thanks for all the tips.   

[Joe Paul]

When I had mine, they used some sort of a biodegradable plug to stop the bleeding. They went through the grion & I sat for just an hour and a half before I was allowed to leave. I drove home too, about a hour drive. They used a local anesthetic, and a couple of pills to relax me and 2 days before the test had to eat some prednisone because of an allergic reaction I had to the dye in a previous test. All in all wasn't too bad really.