Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in the Heart & Vascular Center provides the region's highest level of interventional cardiology diagnostic and treatment technologies. Experienced D-H specialists perform the full range of procedures, from low-risk to extremely high-risk coronary and structural heart interventions, some of which are only be available through clinical trials.

The laboratory is staffed 24­ hours a day, 365­ days a year, and provides scheduled procedures as well as emergency and urgent procedures. The DHART (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team) transports you from regional community hospitals to the D-H Cath Lab.

Cardiac catheterization – diagnostic and treatment procedures

Diagnostic procedures:

• Aortography
• Bypass graft angiography
• Cardiac fluoroscopy
• Coronary angiography
• Electromechanical mapping
• Endomyocardial biopsy
• Femoral, radial, brachial, axiallary vascular access
• Intravascular and intracardiac ultrasound
• Oxygen consumption measurement
• Pressure wire measurements
• Pulmonary angiography
• Right and left heart catheterization
• Transseptal catheterization
• Vascular cut downs
• Vasodilator challenge for pulmonary hypertension
• Venography
• Ventriculography

Interventional procedures:

• Coronary angiography
• Coronary stenting
• Coronary Thrombectomy
• Cutting balloon angioplasty
• Distal protection
• ECMO
• Foreign body removal
• Graft stenting
• Intra-aortic balloon pump
• Left ventricular support devices (Impella)
• Orbital atherectomy
• Percutaneous pericardial window
• Pericardiocentesis
• Pulmonary Thrombectomy
• Rotational atherectomy
• Temporary pacemaker placement
• Thrombectomy

Interventional procedures for Congenital Heart Disease:

• ASD/PFO closure
• Coarctation angioplasty
• Coil embolization
• PDA closure
• Pulmonary angioplasty
• Septostomy
• Valvuloplasty

Structural Heart Disease procedures:

• Alcohol septal ablation
• Aortic, mitral, and pulmonic valve replacement using TAVR (valve-in-valve, valve in native)
• Aortic, mitral, and pulmonic valvuloplasty
• Coronary artery fistula closure
• Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC)
• Paravalvular leak closure
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR)

Peripheral Vascular Interventional procedures:

• Angioplasty and stenting of infrainguinal vessels including superficial femoral artery, popliteal and infrageniculate vessels as well as renal, iliac, and subclavian vessels
• Peripheral angiography
• Peripheral intravascular ultrasound
• Vascular closure