Mikaele Gauntner

10/28/22

Cardiac Catheterization Lab

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the cardiac cath lab as my clinical

observation. The cardiac catheterization procedure consisted of the following steps. Firstly, they

would begin by sedating the patient. They would then use the ultrasound to find the best artery

placement to feed the catheter and wire through. After a preferred artery was located, the

cardiologist would then insert the wire and then the catheter through the artery and into the

coronary arteries of the heart whilst watching the wire move through the body on the screen.

Once the catheter was inserted into the heart, he would release dye to see if there were any

blockages or narrowing in any of the vessels. If any were observed and it was simple enough to

fix with a drug-eluding stent (which the said they use for most, if not every patient now), they

would insert a stent into the affected vessel. If there appeared to be too many issues to fix (three

or more), they would hold off on placing a stent and consult the cardiac surgeons to see what

their thoughts were on whether they felt the patient should undergo a coronary bypass graft or

receive a stent instead. The nurse’s role in this was to either serve as the circulating nurse, prep

the room for the procedure, or assist during the actual procedure by handing the phycisian any

needed instruments or operating the equipment. Post-operatively, the patients were then taken

upstairs to floor six and monitored as their sedations wore off to ensure their vitals were normal

and no adverse effects were observed before they went home with whoever brought them to the

procedure.
Regarding post-PCI care, the nurses did a number of things. Firstly, they made sure to keep

pressure applied to the insertion site (and elevation if possible) in order to stop the bleeding.

They also monitored the patients’ vitals and level of consciousness since they had undergone an

invasive procedure with minor anesthesia to see if there were any concerning changes, signs of

infection, bleeding, or an allergic reaction to the dye. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience.

I am particularly fond of surgery and the OR, so I found this to be right in line with my interests.

All of the nurses and cardiologists were very helpful and knowledgeable about what was

happening. Everyone was more than happy to explain to me what exactly what was going on and

answer any questions I had. I think it is a great opportunity for future students to be able to

experience. Even if they are not necessarily interested in the procedure itself, I still got to learn a

lot about the heart and how the things they were looking for tied into multiple other body

systems and issues.