Question about Cardiac Caths

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Specializes in ICU.

Hey I was just wondering if anyone had any information or articles on whether patients with Parkinson's disease are allowed to get a cardiac cath or not. The rationale for a doctor not having a patient get one was that the patient has Parkinson's and the shaking would be dangerous. But I have not been able to find any type of information or articles that states that they cannot have a cath done. And if the patient needed it anyway wouldn't the benefits out weight the risk?

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Specializes in Cardiac (adult), CC, Peds, MH/Substance.

Erm. Which sort of doctor said that?

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Specializes in ICU.

The doctor caring for this patient, I thought the day nurse misspoke when she was giving me report, but I looked into it and that's what he wrote.

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Specializes in Cardiology.

Maybe this particular doctor doesnt feel comfortable doing it but I have taken care of post cath patients who had Parkinson's.

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Specializes in Nurse Anesthesiology.

It can and is done all the time. Parkinson's is not a contraindication at ALL for cardiac cath

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I can confidently say that Parkinson's does not rule out a cardiac cath, having taken care of those patients in the past.

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Specializes in Cardiac (adult), CC, Peds, MH/Substance.

Yup. Curious what rationale was given when you eventually asked. You asked, right?

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There is no reason for a competent interventional Cath md to not Cath a Parkinson's patient. Tremors can be managed just like everything else. It's sad they would quote that.

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I agree with everyone else. I have cared for patients with Parkinson's post cath and stents many times. Most of them have a mild tremor which is not enough to disturb the angio site anyway, especially post radial if they have a TR band which can just be deflated depending on the bleeding. I have seen docs cannulate people in the Cath lab with cpr in progress so I don't think a mild tremor would pose enough of a danger during the procedure. Happy to be corrected though.

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Specializes in ICU.

Of course I asked, no rationale was given. I got some kind of dirty look and a comment that was pretty much I'm the doctor you are the nurse. So I suggested well if you don't think you are capable of doing it here why not send the patient out to another hospital that can, and then the response was well they are a DNR anyway. So I think that's what it honestly boiled down to, they felt the pt was a DNR so it was no point, least that's the impression I got.

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Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.

Was it the internal med doc that said that or was it the interventional cardiologist that said that? If it was the IM med then he should've gotten a cardiology consult to determine it. But otherwise, I can't see why it would be contraindicated.

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Specializes in ICU.

No it was the IM doc, he wouldn't even put a cardiology consult in. I'm learning they do things a lot different in the VA hospital system.

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