The risk of diagnostic cardiovascular catheterization

This report details a prospective study of the risk of diagnostic cardiac catheterization performed in a private, community hospital. Over the first 131 months of operation of our laboratory, 745 adult patients underwent diagnostic cardiac catheterization consisting of 2,676 various catheterization procedures. Six patients experienced seven major complications; two of these complications left a permanent deficit. There were no deaths during catheterization and none later which were attributable to it. The risk to the patient of having a major complication associated with a cardiac catheterization in our series was 0.8 per cent. The risk to the patient of having a major complication when a catheterization procedure was performed was 0.3 per cent. The risk of having a complication resulting in a permanent sequela was 0.07 per cent. We conclude that diagnostic cardiac catheterization can be accomplished with little risk to the patient, either of death or of other major complication.