heart doctors in yelahanka New Town, Bangalore • Coronary angiography This procedure enables the cardiologist to visualise the coronary arteries It is the standard against which other less-invasive investigations are assessed. Selective catheterisation of the right and left coronary ostia is performed. Contrast is then injected into the vessels and digital tape or disc storage of the images obtained. In most hospitals the patient is admitted on the morning of the test and allowed to go home that afternoon. The procedure is most often performed through the femoral artery (Judkins technique) This artery can be punctured through the skin under local anaesthetic. A fine softtipped guide wire is then advanced into the artery and the needle withdrawn (Seldinger method). A short guiding sheath can then be placed over the wire and long cardiac catheters advanced through this sheath along a long guide wire into the femoral artery and up via the aorta to the aortic arch. The catheter and wire are advanced under X-ray control. Usually one catheter with a curved tip (pig-tail catheter; is advanced across the aortic valve into the left ventricle where left ventricular pressures are measured via a pressure transducer connected to the other end of the catheter. Measurement of the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure gives an indication of left ventricular function. Raised end-diastolic pressure (over 15 mmHg) suggests left ventricular dysfunction The catheter is then connected to a pressure injector. This enables injection of a large volume of contrast over a few seconds; for example, 35 mL at 15 mL/second. X-ray recording during injection produces a left ventriculogram . Here left ventricular contraction can be assessed and the ejection fraction (percentage of end-diastolic volume ejected with each systole) estimated. The normal is 60% or more. method tends to be higher than that produced by the nuclear imaging method—gated blood pool scanning. The guide wire is reintroduced and the catheter withdrawn to be replaced by one shaped to fit into the right or left coronary orifice. Hand injections of 5–10 mL of contrast are then made. Modern equipment enables numerous views of the coronaries to be obtained in both right and