Acute Cardiology

A coronary angiogram is an invasive test using contrast (X-ray dye) and x-ray to see if the coronary arteries which supply the blood to your heart, are narrowed or blocked. It involves placing a small plastic tube or catheter in an artery in the wrist or groin. The catheter is then passed to the heart and the doctor will inject contrast into the coronary arteries while using a special type of x-ray. This allows the doctor to see how well the contrast flows through the arteries and if there are any narrowings or blockages that may have caused or increase your risk of angina or a heart attack.

Download the Coronary Angiogram leaflet

An Electrophysiology Study (EPS) is an invasive procedure to understand the electrical activity of your heart. It is usually performed in people who have fast abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) coming from the top part of the heart, Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT) or less commonly in people having or at risk of arrhythmias from the ventricles, Ventricular Tachycardia (VT).

Download the Electrophysiology Study leaflet

Angioplasty is a specialist treatment which opens a narrowed or blocked coronary artery on the surface of your heart. These arteries bring blood to your heart muscle and when narrowed cause angina. When they occlude suddenly they cause a heart attack also called a myocardial infarction. Angioplasty is very similar to a Cardiac Catheterisation or Angiogram procedure which you will have had prior to your angioplasty and which demonstrated your narrowed or blocked coronary artery. A Coronary Stent is an expandable mesh tube which is implanted into a narrowed artery to permanently hold it open to improve blood flow.

Download the Angioplasty and Coronary Stenting leaflet

A right-heart catheterization is carried out to see how well or poorly your heart is pumping, and to measure the pressures in your heart and lungs. During a right-heart catheterization, the doctor guides a special catheter (a small, hollow tube) to the right side of your heart. This may be passed through a vein in the arm, the side of the neck, the groin or under the collar bone. The doctor then passes the tube into your pulmonary artery. This is the main artery that carries blood to your lungs. This will allow the doctor to observe blood flow through your heart and measure the pressures inside your heart and lungs and calculates the volume of blood your heart pumps per minute.

Download the Right Heart Catheterisation leaflet

An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) is a small electrical device that monitors the rhythm of your heartbeat. When it detects an abnormal rhythm (arrhythmia) it works to restore the normal heartbeat. The ICD will have 1, 2 or 3 leads attached to a box/generator that will sit in your heart and it delivers an internal shock. When the ICD detects an abnormal rhythm, it can treat it in 3 ways;

• It can prevent slow heart rates by pacing the heart.
• If the heart goes dangerously fast, it may deliver one or more “shocks” to restore normal rhythm again.
• It can terminate fast abnormal rhythms with rapid pacing.

Download the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator leaflet

A loop recorder is a type of heart-monitoring device that records your heart rhythm continuously for up to three years. It records the electrical signals of your heart and allows remote (home) monitoring by way of a small device inserted just beneath the skin of the chest. 

Download the Loop Reorder leaflet

A pacemaker is a device used to prevent your heart going too slow and to help your heart beat faster when it needs to. Your heart beats because of electrical impulses that fire automatically once a second from the Sinus Node in the top of the right atrium. These impulse are then transmitted through the hearts own internal wiring to the main pumping chambers, the ventricles. The Sinus Node or the wiring system can slow down as you get older or sometimes get damaged after a heart attack or the development of heart muscle conditions called cardiomyopathies. If your heart has been beating too slowly at times, you might have noticed dizziness or a blackout. A pacemaker, when in place, can tell when your heart is slowing down and so “kicks in” to speed up your heart rate and protect you from a blackout.

Download the Pacemaker leaflet

A Transcatheter Aortic Valve Insertion (TAVI) is an alternative, less invasive procedure to replace the aortic valve than surgery. This involves passing a valve into the heart using X-ray and echocardiography guidance. The valve is usually inserted through the femoral arteries in the groin and fitted inside the defective aortic valve.

Download the TAVI leaflet

Download the TAVI Discharge Information Leaflet