Monday, June 04, 2012

Left heart ventricular angiography

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Angiography - left heart; Left ventriculography


What the risks are

Risks associated with this procedure include:

  • Abnormal heartbeats (arrhythmias)
  • Allergic reaction to dye
  • Artery damage
  • Cardiac tamponade
  • Embolism from blood clots at the tip of the catheter
  • Heart failure due to the volume of the dye
  • Infection
  • Kidney failure from the dye
  • Low blood pressure
  • Heart attack
  • Hemorrhage
  • Stroke

Special considerations

Right heart catheterization may be combined with this procedure.

Left heart ventricular angiography has some risk because it is an invasive procedure. Other imaging techniques may carry less risk, such as:

  • CT scans
  • Echocardiography
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart
  • Radionuclide ventriculography

Your health care provider may decide to perform one of these procedures instead of left heart ventricular angiography.


Review Date: 05/22/2010
Reviewed By: Issam Mikati, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Director, Northwestern Clinic Echocardiography Lab, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)