Indications

Possible indications for cardiac catheterization include:

• the diagnosis and treatment (balloon angioplasty) of coronary artery disease
  
  
• the assessment and treatment (valvuloplasty) of valvular heart disease, however:
  • echocardiography may be sufficient to measure pressure gradients across valves
  • aortic stensis may prevent passage of a catheter across the aortic valve
    
    
• the investigation and treatment of congenital heart disease:
  • catheterization may be useful in complex cases and may be used therapeutically for example using a balloon catheter to create an atrial septal defect in transposition of the great vessels
    
    
• cardiomyopathy:
  • permits myocardial biopsy