Download Coronary Angio and Card Cath book (Printable Version

CARDIAC SERVICES
Haddaad rabto warqadan oo turjuman oo ku duuban cajalad
ama qoraal ah fadlan la xiriir, Maamulaha Adeegga Sinaanta
0116 258 4382.
CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY
AND
CARDIAC CATHETERISATION
Eĝer bu broşürün (kitapçıĝın) yazılı veya kasetli açıklamasını
isterseniz lütfen servis müdürüne 0116 258 4382 telefonundan
ulaşabilirsiniz./
This booklet has been produced by:
The Cardio-Respiratory Patient Information Group
Originated: January 1994
Updated: May 2008
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Glenfield Hospital
Groby Road
Leicester
LE3 9QP
Telephone: 0300 303 1573
Fax: 0116 2583950
Minicom: 0116 2879852
A Guide for Patients
University Hospitals of Leicester
NHS Trust
Glenfield Hospital
INTRODUCTION
Cardiac catheterisation/angiogram is a specialised test
undertaken to assist in the assessment of your heart condition
and will require a short stay in hospital. This booklet has been
designed to help you to understand what you will experience
whilst undergoing this catheter test.
WHAT IS A CATHETER TEST?
A catheter test involves passing one or two fine tubes called
catheters into blood vessels through a puncture hole in either
the arm or top of the leg and passing them round to the heart
under x-ray control. They can be used to measure pressures
inside the heart and to inject “dyes” which enable x-ray pictures
to be taken of the heart and coronary arteries. As this test is
undertaken using x-ray screening it is important that if you think
you may be pregnant you will let us know before you are due to
come into hospital.
to the knee may develop over the week following the catheter.
This may look very unsightly passing from a blue-purple colour
eventually to a yellow one, but is often not painful and is not
serious. Paracetamol can be taken for minor discomfort.
If there is any doubt or problem with your groin (or arm wound),
within the first week of returning home, please contact the ward
to which you were admitted and ask to speak to a doctor or
nurse who cared for you.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Ward 28
-
0116 258 3646
Ward 33
-
0116 258 3733/3849
Ward 33A
Ward 34
0116 250 2894
-
0116 258 3329
HOW DO I NEED TO PREPARE MYSELF?
We ask that you have a bath/shower the morning of the test.
We also ask that you have nothing to eat for four hours and
drink for two hours before having the test. Therefore, if you are
coming in on the day your test is planned follow these
instructions:
1. If you are coming in the morning have
nothing to eat from midnight, but you may
have a drink before 6.30am then nothing else.
www.yourheart.org.uk is one of the first interactive web sites
for heart patients and their relatives and friends in the UK. This
site will offer heart and health related information available.
TRANSLATION
If you would like this information in another language or format,
please contact the Service Equality Manager on 0116 258 4382.
2. If you are coming in the afternoon then do
not eat after 8am, but you may have a
drink up to 11.30am then nothing else.
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BENEFITS
WHAT DOES THE TEST INVOLVE?
The investigation details the state of the coronary arteries, the
heart valves and the pumping chambers of the heart. It is an
essential investigation and is needed to plan possible cardiac
surgery or treatment by angioplasty.
When you arrive on the ward you will
meet the nurse who will be caring for
you and he/she will assist you in
preparing for the test. You will be
asked to put on a hospital gown and
a needle will be put into the back of your hand.
If you have specific worries, please discuss them with your
consultant, GP or nurse responsible for looking after you.
GOING HOME
If your catheter test was from the groin, avoid heavy lifting or
vigorous walking for two to three days after leaving hospital.
You will have a plaster in place, which can be removed after two
days. We advise you not to drive for 2 days following the test,
as your leg may be sore.
PROBLEMS AT HOME
There is a very small risk for the wound in your
groin to start bleeding. Should this occur don’t
panic but lie down on the floor (not the bed),
where you are less likely to faint. You, or
better still, a relative or friend, should press
with the flat of the fingers of both hands or a clenched fist over
the groin wound for thirty minutes and then slowly release. Do
not consider a tourniquet as it will not work and is dangerous. It
would then be advisable to contact your family doctor so that
he/she can check your wound and to see that you are all right.
If the bleeding has not stopped after 30 minutes dail 999 for
assistance.
The catheter test is performed in an investigation room (which
contains special x-ray and monitoring equipment) and this is
away from the ward. A nurse from the investigation room will
come and introduce her/himself and take you to the room on
your bed. The staff in the investigation room will be wearing
gowns, masks and hats, as this is a clean procedure.
You will be transferred from your bed to an x-ray table, which is
narrow and rather hard. Heart monitor wires will be attached to
your arms and legs. Either your groin or arm will be cleaned
with an antiseptic lotion and sterile towels will be used to cover
the surrounding area. A local anaesthetic will be injected to
numb your skin so you will not experience pain when the tube is
passed into your blood vessel in your groin or arm.
Once the catheter has been put in the
blood vessel in your arm or groin, you
should not feel them as they are
passed up to your heart. Occasionally
you may feel a few extra heart beats
(palpitations) but this is perfectly
normal.
Slightly more common is the development of a painful bruise over
the puncture wound in your groin. This is due to bleeding under
the skin. If a painful lump does develop, especially if the groin
becomes painful when walking, please seek medical advice.
Bruising and discolouration above and below the groin, even down
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The x-ray equipment will be positioned close to your chest, but
will not cause you any harm. Most catheter studies involve an
injection of an x-ray dye through the tube into the main
compartment and arteries of the heart. During this injection it is
usual for you to experience a sudden flushing feeling, which
lasts up to thirty seconds; you may also feel you have passed
water but you won’t have done! You will also hear the
cinecamera we use to take pictures of the x-rays.
IS THERE ANY RISK?
The test takes about half an hour, sometimes less. When the
catheters are taken out pressure will be applied on your groin for
about fifteen minutes to allow the blood vessel to seal; you will
not need any stitches.
The investigation is an invasive one and there are small but
definite risks both to ‘life and limb’. The risks depend to some
extent on how unwell the patient is, and also increases in older
age (over 70 years).
WHAT HAPPENS AFTERWARDS?
The risks include about a 1 in 1000 (0.1%) chance of a
myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke or serious heart
rhythm disturbance, any of which might lead to death about 1 in
10,000.
After the test is finished you will be
transferred back to the ward where
you will need to rest in bed/lying flat
for ½ hour and then you will be
assisted to sit up in bed or a chair
for a remaining 1½ hours. Once
back on the ward you will be able to
eat and drink unless you require further treatment that day. The
nurse caring for you will check your pulse and blood pressure
and feel the pulses in your feet and wrist (depending on where
the test was carried out from), whilst you are resting on your
bed or chair. If the test was carried out from your groin, please
keep your leg as straight as possible to minimise the amount of
bruising you may get.
You will normally be able to go home on the same day, however
occasionally patients stay in overnight. You will be informed of
the initial results of the test before you go home. A follow-up
appointment is not always necessary. If we do need to see you
again in outpatients you will be informed by letter."
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No test which involves putting tubes into
blood vessels of the heart is totally free
of risk, but the consultant responsible for
you will be satisfied that the benefit to
you of having the test done will far
outweigh the risk.
Minor groin complications of bleeding, bruising are common
occurring in 1 in 5 people (about 20%) with more serious
damage to the artery or veins in about 1 in 100 cases.
Emergency cardiac surgery may be needed during or soon after
the procedure if a serious problem is found or develops.
There is a very small risk of clotting in the leg veins (thrombosis)
with clots passing to the lungs (embolism).
The radiation risk from the x-rays used
is equivalent to two years of
background radiation (radiation that is
normally found in the atmosphere
which is present in everyday life.
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