The information obtained from a heart catheterization is the most accurate available regarding the arteries and function of the heart. It defines the presence or absence of disease, the severity of blockages in the arteries of the heart, and the need for further treatment.

At Mount Nittany Medical Center, our top-flight Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art technology such as the Advantx LC+ cardiovascular imaging system from GE Medical Systems. It provides truly high-performance digital imaging and a full range of capabilities to help us achieve the fastest, most accurate diagnoses possible, as well as the ability to build on today's capabilities as technology continues to evolve.

Experienced invasive cardiologists on the Mount Nittany Medical Center Medical Staff perform all cardiac caths. Services include: cardioversions, pericardiocentesis, Swan catheter insertions, IABP insertions, temporary pacemakers and tilt-table testing procedures. Physician referral is required.

Cardiac catheterization is the general name for a group of procedures in which a physician guides long, thin tubes (catheters) through an artery in the leg and into the heart and the coronary arteries. The tubes may be hollow or solid. The hollow tubes allow measurement of pressures, injection of fluids such as X-ray dyes, and/or withdrawal of blood. The solid tubes contain wires for recording electrical activity and/or for pacing the heart or specialized instruments, such as jaws (bioptomes) that allow taking a tiny piece of heart muscle for laboratory study. When X-ray dye is injected into the heart or its adjacent blood vessels, the procedure can also be called angiography.