WHAT IS A CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION LAB?

A cardiac catheterization lab (cath lab) is a specialized area in the hospital where doctors perform minimally invasive tests and advanced cardiac procedures as previously described.

The cardiac cath lab is equipped with state-of-the-art imaging technology used to view the arteries and check how well blood is flowing to and from the heart. The suites are normally side-by-side with the control room in the middle. Cath labs consist of a patient table, image intensifier or flat panel detector, viewing monitors, an injector pump, angioplasty balloons and a defibrillator. They also have an X-ray image intensifier for fluoroscopic imaging and a single X-ray generator source.