OGHS Catheterization Laboratory
Diagnostic & Interventional Cardiac Procedures
Opelousas General Health System has two fully equipped, state-of-the-art catheterization laboratories where diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization procedures take place. These procedures are used to identify serious heart conditions as well as to treat patients.
OGHS partners with Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS), utilizing the most advanced technology, such as atherectomy, specialty balloons, and stents, to offer minimally invasive options for high-risk heart disease patients. Additionally, CIS’s extensive experience in peripheral interventional cath lab procedures can save patients from amputation and improve their overall quality of life.
Services We offer
Our cardiologists, nurses and technicians have expertise in performing a wide range of diagnostic tests and procedures, including:
- Cardiac Catheterizations - Cardiac catheterization involves inserting a catheter into the heart, usually from the groin or the arm, to provide physicians with critical information about how the interior of the heart operates, as well as if any blockages exist in the arteries.
- Angioplasty - Angioplasty is a procedure where a small balloon-tipped catheter is guided into a blocked blood vessel. The balloon is then inflated to open the vessel and allow necessary blood flow.
- Radial Access Catheterizations
- Implantable Cardioverter - Defibrillator (ICDs) - An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a small, electronic device inserted in the upper chest that constantly monitors the electrical activity of the heart. About the size of a stopwatch, it consists of a pulse generator-essentially a battery and computer-and wires, called leads. These leads connect the pulse generator to the heart. ICDs are implanted to monitor heart rhythms and can determine what type of shock to deliver when needed.
- Stent - A stent is a tiny expandable coil placed inside a blood vessel at the site of a blockage to open the obstruction and increase blood flow. A stent is commonly inserted during cardiac catheterization.
- Pacemakers
- Positron Emission Tomography (PET) - A PET is a nuclear imaging test to detect the flow of blood in the arteries. It is used to evaluate cardiovascular function.
- Percutaneous Left Ventricular Assist - Utilized for patients with acute heart failure.
- Percutaneous Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) - A minimally invasive approach to abdominal aneurysm repair.
- Peripheral Vascular Atherectomy - We have all of the latest technologies to remove various types of plaque and calcium from the peripheral arteries.
- Coronary Atherectomy - The newest in technology to remove plaque that builds up inside a person's heart arteries.
