I've had several cardiac catheterizaions over the years due to a congenital problem with my aortic valve (bicuspid valve).

It is an invasive procedure, but the technology has advanced tremendously over the years and I would certainly not view it as a risky procedure, especially with a doctor (and at a facility) that does them on a regular basis.

I'd suggest you discuss your concerns with you cardiologist and ask him to make his case for doing a cath verses other diagnostic procedures. There are some things that can be better determined by doing a cath versus a non-invasive procedure, and your doctor should be able to explain his reasoning to you. If you don't feel comfortable with his explanations, then I'd suggest that you seek out a second opionion. Always be your own advocate.

Just as full disclosure, I eventually had open heart surgery to replace my valve, at which time my surgeon found some other issues that even the caths had not detected.

Good luck.

Mark

without getting in to the why's and wherefores - I had an ablation done 10 years ago for PSVT / WPW syndrome, had been having high heart rates for a little while - got back from a run one saturday afternoon, sat down was watching gold, HR spiked and was still wearing HRM, walked out of apartment, crossed road in to ED - usual BS of name, insurance etc whats the problem, said I think my HR is a little high - they said how high, I said 280 that stopped the stupid questions, it reverted to normal, Monday saw PCP, tuesday had holter, results in Friday, saw electro-physiologist following week, booked ablation, finished first tri about 10 days after that

end to end it was a couple of weeks I think - knock on wood, never had a problem since, painless, great drugs, solved my particular problem

I'm 45 and had a major Heart attack Dec. 2013. Just finished a ride and took a shower then got "the" symptoms and drove to the hospital. It is amazing how fast they stop with the questions after you say heart attack. Got shocked seven times blah blah blah ended up with a stent in the LAD(widow maker).

Couple months later i started getting chest pains while running that actually hurt more than the heart attack. The pain would subside if I stopped running or at least got my heart rate to subside. Talked to Doctor receive a stress test and a nuclear stress test and received the all clear after both. Went back to running and still received pains so we went to catheterization. Found out that the stent was starting to block a secondary artery so they had to shove a second stent through the first.

I felt good for a couple months then started getting pains/sensations while exercising again. Doctor put me through the stress tests again and saw nothing wrong. I continued to complain so they did another catheterization. They went through my wrist this time, which I did not know was an option, and saw that my body was rejecting both stents so now I have a cool scar from the openheart surgery.

ETA: Moral of the story is stress tests don't always work. It is fun to watch the technicians try and figure out why you are not getting tired as soon as most of their patients do.

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Yes

Thanks for the replies! Y'all have been through the wringer. Glad you're back in the game! The stent topic brings up some concerns as well. I read that stents are best used in those situations where you are having an attack and they need an immediate fix. I read that aggressive drug therapy and diet have had better results for angina cases than stents? Also that stents can develop scar tissue and close up, or build up a clot and close quickly? I wonder if Ill have the choice if they find a typical non life threatening blockage when the procedure is being performed?
I made up my mind to ask for a CTA scan or even a MRA first before going invasive, but my cardiologist didn't think we could learn enough from those options, as the cath is the "gold standard"

From a workout point of view, i had 2 done in the last year and i was swimming 2 days later, biking 3 days later and running 5 days later. Biked 56 miles 9 days after the second one (both time they said 6 weeks without any exercise and going back up slowly, but I always had a good perception of my limits). Now i can finally breathe so it was totally worth it. But cardiac problems are different from one person to another. Take care and listen to your doctor. Hope it's nothing serious.

Hi Red, were your cath's free from any side effects? Did you have blockages? Glad your back in the game!