Pseudo Complications of Cardiac Catheterization

¹ Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, Florida; University of Miami School of Medicine, Coral Gables, Fla.

Cardiac catheterization procedures may be associated with serious complications, even when performed in a technically flawless fashion. This prospective study investigated all complications associated with 1,036 diagnostic catheterizations over a 12-month period. Complications which occurred in the 48 hours before or the 24 hours after scheduled but unperformed catheterizations were termed "pseudo complications." There were 24 (2.3 percent) pseudo complications, including 12 (1.2 percent) sudden deaths. There were 26 (2.6 percent) catheterization procedure-related complications, including six (0.6 percent) deaths. Similar types of complications were noted in both groups. The incidence of annual complications would have doubled and the mortality rate would have tripled if the procedures had been performed on schedule or up to 48 hours earlier in the patients of the pseudo complication group. The incidence of complications after cardiac catheterization is materially influenced by the unexpected complications resulting from severe cardiac disease.