In the past, hospitals used cardiac catheterization labs for a very limited number of procedures, primarily studies of blood flow and pressure in the heart, visualization of the coronary arteries and balloon angioplasty.

Today, the modern cardiac “cath” lab is home to a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment techniques that allow the doctor to tailor care for the very specific needs of individual patients.

Saint Francis doctors have contributed to this rapid development in interventional cardiology. Patients at the Saint Francis Heart Center benefit from the complete range of state-of-the-art care. The procedures done in the cath lab are sometimes referred to as catheter-based modalities, because they all employ the basic techniques of cardiac catheterization.