What are cardiac catheterization procedures?

X-ray test: During cardiac catheterization, x-ray dye is injected into the heart while x-ray movies are taken during the injection. This allows the physician to see the muscle of the heart, the function of the valves, and the coronary arteries. As the heart structures are not dense like a bone, it requires x-ray dye to be injected in order to be able to see the important structures of the heart.

Catheterization : The procedure involves sliding catheters through your blood vessels to the heart. The catheters are used to measure pressures, take samples, inject dye for imaging and other purposes. When imaging is performed with cath we call it angiography. Often they go together.