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Heart Catheters Increase Risk of Stroke in some

A study in the April 12, 2003 issue of the British journal The Lancet finds that using heart catheters to diagnose a certain type of heart problem can unnecessarily increase the risk of the patient having a stroke.

Patients with aortic-valve stenosis (narrowing) did much better when surgeons relied on non-invasive echocardiograms.

Associate professor of cardiology at the University of Bonn in Germany and lead researcher Dr. Heyder Omran says, “if you do a good echocardiogram and you are confident about the results, I don’t see a reason for doing the [invasive catheter procedure]. Those who do will certainly expose the patient to the risk of stroke.”

22% of the 101 patients in the study who had the catheterization procedure had indications of blood clots after the treatment. Three patients in the study who had catheterization had impairments in neurological function indicating they suffered a stroke.

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