Cardiac catheterization is the insertion and passage of small plastic tubes (catheters) into arteries and veins to the heart to obtain x-ray pictures (angiography) of coronary arteries and cardiac chambers and to measure pressures in the heart (hemodynamics). The cardiac catheterization laboratory performs angiography to obtain images not only to diagnose coronary artery disease but also to look for diseases of the aorta and pulmonary and peripheral vessels. In addition to providing diagnostic information, the cardiac catheterization laboratory performs catheter-based interventions (e.g., angioplasty and stents, now called percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]).
