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Cardiac Catheterization Lab
Pardee Hospital has a fixed
cath lab inside the hospital that operates Monday through
Friday, making it convenient
for 
area residents to receive advanced cardiac care
close to home.
What is Cardiac Catheterization?
Cardiac catheterization is a diagnostic study that provides valuable insight into the anatomy of the arteries which supply the heart muscle with blood. With this technique, doctors can see directly if blockages exist in the critical vessels that are involved in heart attacks. Cardiac catheterization provides critical information that helps doctors guide their patients through potential options of therapy, which include risk factor (diabetes, hypertension, tobacco abuse, obesity, etc.) modification, medical therapy, angioplasty, stents, and sometimes bypass surgery.
What Happens During the Procedure?
Catheterization is not a “surgery” – it is a procedure in which a patient is usually awake or mildly sedated. The doctor, under sterile technique, injects a small amount of numbing medicine into the skin in the groin area over major blood vessels that go into the heart. Through that numbed area, a small tube (sheath) is placed into the vessel and the rest of the procedure is performed through this port. Pressures are measured inside the heart, dye is injected in the arteries and into the main pumping chamber, and then the sheath is removed at the end of the test.
Dr. John Critikos, Cath Lab Medical Director
John
P. Critikos II, M.D., FACC, of Hendersonville Cardiology
Associates, serves as the medical director for Pardee
Hospital’s Cath Lab. Dr. Critikos
completed his medical education, including medical school and residency, at
the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He performed his cardiology
fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Ga. He is board certified
in cardiovascular disease and is on the active medical staff at Pardee Hospital.
Hendersonville Cardiology Associates is affiliated with Asheville Cardiology
Associates, and Dr. Critikos works closely with his colleagues in Asheville.
When appropriate, Dr. Critikos discusses potential therapeutic options, such
as angioplasty, stenting and bypass surgery, and makes referrals to Mission
Hospitals when necessary.
More Information
If you have questions about cardiac catheterization, please consult with your family physician or contact Hendersonville Cardiology Associates at (828) 693-5010.