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Your Procedure | Forms & Information

There are four Cardiovascular Catheterization Laboratories  ("cath labs") at UCSD Medical Center -- two in La Jolla, and two in Hillcrest. Each lab has state-of-the-art digital cardiac and vascular imaging systems and use filmless (digital) images, which means a diagnosis and treatment plan can be provided almost immediately.

• Link to a list of procedures we perform

From the first signs of a problem, our team provides rapid diagnosis and treatment of angina and myocardial infarction. Beginning in the emergency room, we use a risk-based triage system consisting of cardiac marker lab test results, EKG and cardiac consultation to expedite patients from the emergency room to the cardiovascular catheterization lab as needed. Our protocols meet and exceed national standards in rapid response time and in fact we now activate our Catheterization Laboratory Team based on the paramedic evaluation of the patient in the field.
 
Recent studies have confirmed that outcomes for patients suffering from heart attacks are best in hospitals that offer emergent cardiac catheterization and angioplasty/stent placement. Furthermore, chances of surviving a heart attack are best at hospitals where interventional cardiologists perform these procedures on a routine basis and high volume basis.

• At UCSD Medical Center, more than 2,500 cardiovascular procedures are performed annually. All heart and vascular interventions performed at our hospital are performed by high-volume interventional cardiologists who are all Board Certified in Interventional Cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine.