Children's Hospital Boston 300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 355-6000
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Clinical Services (Interventional Catheterization Program):
About Interventional Cardiac Catheterization
In catheterization, doctors feed a very narrow tube (catheter) into a vein or artery that leads to the heart. Usually the entry point will be in the groin or upper arm areas. By using the catheter to deliver different tools directly to the heart, doctors can:
  • closely observe heart structure
  • measure blood pressures at specific locations within the heart
  • deliver focused radio waves to sever errant electrical connections
  • close holes
  • expand narrowed passages
  • open new passages where needed
Interventional Catheterization
The uses of cardiac catheterization have grown tremendously over the last 10 years, especially in treating congenital heart disease. The catheterization program at Children's Hospital Boston has the tools, dedicated expertise and integration with other programs necessary to successfully treat the full range of congenital heart problems in children and adults.

Children's handles every type of intervention in use today, including:

  • balloon valvuloplasty
  • balloon angioplasty
  • stent placement
  • closure of atrial septal defects, ventricular septal defects and patent ductus arteriosus
  • closure of unwanted arteries or veins
  • biopsies
  • cryoablation: the use of intense cold to destroy the sources of abnormal electrical signals, which can cause the heart to beat irregularly
  • radiofrequency ablation.
Diagnostic Catheterization
In the past, catheterization was often used to visualize heart structures, but MRI and ultrasound technology has improved dramatically, so that many structural defects can now be diagnosed non-invasively. However, diagnostic catheterization remains an important part of our program at Children's Hospital Boston. By measuring blood flows and pressures within the heart, and delivering dye that highlights heart structures on X-rays, catheterization helps doctors to determine exactly what the problem is and where it is located, and form a plan to fix it with the least disruption.
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Video Spotlight
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Dr. Lang
The principle is a simple one, but the execution and interpretation require the know-how of a physician expert. Click on the video link below to meet Peter Lang, MD, and hear him describe how a catheterization is performed, and why.

Requires RealPlayer. For best video playback, right click and save the files to your desktop.

Dr. Lang on the goals and method of catheterization
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