My Cath Lab Diary

Introduction      This blog is intended for physicians and staff seeking to hone their skills on Impella. This is part one of a two part blog. I will post a follow up blog that has considerations for advanced caregivers in the next few weeks.       Currently, the FDA has approved the Impella catheter for use in patients in cardiogenic shock and for patients undergoing unprotected left main PCI. I have been using Impella since 2009 and have seen the use of Impella steadily increase. The initial iteration of the device had an extremely complicated set-up and maintenance. The console screen was a third of the size of the current console screen and displayed a green background with black wave-forms and text (basically a big 1990's Texas Instrument calculator). Now the console display is much more user friendly, the set-up has easy to follow steps and the pressure wave-forms are much clearer to read. I can honestly say without reservations that several of my p...

     Here is a quick guide to explain what you should expect on the day of your Heart Catheterization. Before coming to the hospital you should have already seen the doctor in his office and received a pre-operative phone call from a Registered Nurse who will get some information from you regarding your medication and health history. When you arrive at the hospital be prepared to spend the night unless you were told specifically you would be going home the same day. After you have checked into registration you should be led to a pre-operative staging area where you will be prepped for your procedure. After some more intake questions the Registered Nurse (RN) taking care of you will start an IV and shave your groins. If you are having a Radial Heart Catheterization the RN will shave your wrist as well. The radial artery lies on the thumb side of your wrist and can be accessed for a Heart Catheterization procedure. Your femoral artery lies on either side of your groin and i...

Welcome all! I have worked as a Registered Nurse in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory for almost a decade. Within this time I have been able to care for thousands of people and have worked on teams that have helped pioneer cutting edge technology that furthered the field of Cardiac Care. It is my hope that the information I provide in this blog can help educate those seeking knowledge in order to relieve some pain and suffering in the world.