Interventional cardiology is a subspecialty of cardiology that treats heart conditions using catheter-based techniques performed in a cardiac catheterisation laboratory (cath lab). Instead of open surgery, interventional cardiologists use thin flexible tubes (catheters) inserted through blood vessels under local anaesthetic and X-ray guidance (fluoroscopy) to visualise, diagnose, and treat cardiac problems.
Core procedures in interventional cardiology include coronary angiography (injecting contrast dye into the coronary arteries to visualise blockages), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (balloon angioplasty and stenting to open blocked coronary arteries), balloon valvuloplasty (widening narrowed heart valves without open surgery), and structural heart interventions such as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and device closure of septal defects. The specialty continues to expand as increasingly complex conditions can be treated without conventional open surgery.
Interventional cardiology is central to the acute management of cardiac arrest: emergency PCI is performed within hours of resuscitation when a coronary artery blockage is identified as the cause of the arrest. In post-arrest care, electrophysiology studies (a closely related catheter-based discipline) are used to assess and treat the arrhythmia responsible.
Interventional cardiologists are specifically trained and certified in catheter-based procedures and work in specialist units equipped with cardiac catheterisation facilities, radiation protection equipment, and resuscitation resources. All interventional procedures carry risks that are discussed with patients and families during the consent process.
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