Right Heart Catheterization

Right Heart Catheterization is the passing of a thin tube (catheter) into the right side of the heart and the arteries leading to the lungs. It is done to monitor the heart's function and blood flow. This test is most often done in persons who are very ill.

How the Test is Performed:
The test can be done while you are in bed in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital or in special procedure areas such as a cardiac catheterization laboratory.

Before the test starts, you may be given medicine (sedative) to help you relax.

You will lie on a padded table. Your doctor will make a small surgical cut near the groin or in your neck. A flexible tube (catheter or sheath) is placed through the cut into a vein. Sometimes, it will be placed in your arm. You will be awake during the procedure.

A larger catheter is inserted and carefully moved into the upper chamber of the right side of the heart. X-ray images may be used to help the health care provider see where the catheter should be placed.

Blood may be removed from the catheter to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood.

During the procedure, your heart's rhythm will be constantly watched using an electrocardiogram (ECG).

How to Prepare for the Test:
You should not eat or drink anything for 8 hours before the test starts. You may need to stay in the hospital the night before the test. Otherwise, you will check in to the hospital the morning of the test. 

You will wear a hospital gown. You must sign a consent form before the test. Your health care provider will explain the procedure and its risks.

How the Test will Feel:
You may be given medicine to help you relax before the procedure. You will be awake and able to follow instructions during the test.

You may feel some discomfort when the IV is placed into your arm. You may also feel some pressure at the site when the catheter is inserted. In people who are critically ill, the catheter may stay in place for several days.

You may feel discomfort when the area of the vein is numbed with anesthetic.

Why the Test is Performed: 
The procedure is done to evaluate how the blood moves (circulates) in people who have:

• Abnormal pressures in the heart arteries (a patient may be having shortness of breath with a suspected cause of pulmonary hypertension) 
• A person is having shortness of breath with multiple health problems and the fluid volume status needs to be confirmed
• A person has had an echocardiogram which revealed elevated blood pressure in the lung.