Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab) at Trinity Health Of New England is where our interventional cardiologists diagnose and treat chest pain, coronary artery blockages, heart valve and heart muscle problems, and Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). Cardiac catheterization can also help your doctor figure out the best treatment plan for you if:

• You recently recovered from a heart attack but are having chest pain
• You had a heart attack that caused major heart damage
• You had an EKG (electrocardiogram), stress test, or other test with results that suggested heart disease

In the Cath Lab, our experts provide these services:

• Atherectomy
• Balloon angioplasty clears blockages in arteries to restore blood flow to the heart or extremities. This is also called percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Often, stents are inserted to support the tubular structure of the blood vessel and keep it open.
• Diagnostic cardiac catheterization diagnoses blockages and narrowing in arteries, evaluates the pumping ability of the heart, the functioning of heart valves, and measures pressures within the heart.
• Diagnostic and therapeutic peripheral vascular studies to evaluate and treat PAD
• Emergency angioplasty
• Catheter-based ablation procedures for treatment of abnormal heart rhythms
• Coil embolization
• Inferior vena cava (IVC) umbrella placement
• Intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) insertion
• Radial access for catheterization
• Stents

Structural Heart Program

Our Structural Heart Program at Saint Francis Hospital offers minimally invasive, catheter-based therapies for valve and structural heart disease, performed in our cardiac catheterization laboratory:

• MitraClip
• Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
• ASD/PFO closure
• Watchman (left atrial appendage closure)