Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

Hunterdon Medical Center offers the most advanced technology available for diagnosing coronary artery disease and associated heart abnormalities and conditions.

Find out about our newest service: Biventricular Pacemaker implantation

The center of this technology is the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. Cardiac catheterization is an important diagnostic procedure used to study the heart and its blood vessels, especially the coronary arteries. The lab is directed by Board-certified cardiologists, assisted by specially trained registered nurses and cardiovascular technologists.

This minimally invasive procedure begins when the cardiologist inserts a long, thin tube called a catheter into a blood vessel in the leg or arm. The cardiologist guides the catheter to the heart. X-ray dye (contrast media) is then injected into the coronary arteries and rapid x-rays of the heart are taken. Hemodynamic monitoring is performed throughout the procedure.

The catheterization procedure is used to evaluate the coronary arteries for narrowing or blockages, and to measure precisely how well the heart muscle and heart valves are functioning. Heart catheterizations also allow the cardiologist to evaluate possible heart abnormalities, assess damage from prior heart attack (myocardial infarction), and evaluate the status of the heart after coronary artery bypass surgery.

The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory is also used to implant temporary and permanent pacemakers.

Biventricular Pacemaker implantation represents a major step forward in treating patients with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).

In patients with heart failure, the electrical impulses that coordinate the contractions of the heart muscle are impaired. In some cases, the effect is that the two lower chambers – the ventricles – no longer contract at the same time. The effect on patients already suffering with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a magnification of their symptoms, which may include shortness of breath, swollen feet and ankles, chest pain and pressure, or a need to cough when lying down.

This complication of heart disease may now be treated with a biventricular pacemaker. In a treatment known as resynchronization therapy, a device – the biventricular pacemaker – is implanted in the upper chest to send impulses to the heart muscle. The electrical stimulus works to cause the ventricles to contract at the same time, as they do in people not suffering from heart disease.

Biventricular pacemaker therapy is not appropriate for all CHF patients. Check with your doctor or call (908) 788-6471.

For more information about cardiac catheterization, please call (908) 788-6620.