What is the definition or description of: cardiac catheterization?

Invasive heart test: This is a procedure where narrow, flexible tubes are inserted into a peripheral artery through a cut in the skin, and advanced to the heart. Dye can be injected through the catheters into the arteries of the heart to look for blockages ("angiogram"), or to measure pressure within the cardiac chambers ("right heart cath"). Arteries can be opened with balloons/stents at the same time if blocked.

Cath: A cardiac catheterization is a procedure in which an interventional cardiologist accesses an artery. Usually it is the femoral artery but now radial artery access is becoming more common. Once successful, the cardiologist will thread a wire into your coronary vessels. Once there, they will inject dye into the arteries to see if there are any blockages.