General anesthesia for a cath?

Yes, but only in special circumstances: allergy or intolerance to sedatives/narcotics; severe obstructive sleep apnea; severe anxiety states (claustrophobia, PTSD), instances when the pt cannot cooperate i.e. developmentally delayed, dementia.

I've never seen it done with a general. The pt really needs to be awake enough to move or answer questions durring the procedure.

We perform general anesthesia for an average of one heart cath/cath lab procedure per week...perhaps a little less. Possible indications include intolerance to sedatives/narcs, extreme claustrophobia, mental problems (dementia, Alzheimer's, mental retardation), and extreme COPD. Patient communication is not required for these procedures, though it can be helpful - its a trade-off.

In the cath lab where I work, general anesthesia is used on pediatrics for Electrophysiological procedures (EP studies, ICDs, and VT,reentry pathway ablations). Also for older patients with Afib ablations.