Swan Ganz catheterization

Right heart catheterization involves the passage of a catheter (a thin flexible tube) into the right side of the heart to obtain diagnostic information about the heart and for continuous monitoring of heart function in critically ill patients.

Review Date: 07/10/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Michael A. chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.