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Medical Content Created by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical
School  What Happens During the Test?  The test is done by a
specialist using equipment and cameras in the cardiology
department. You wear a hospital gown and lie on your back during
the procedure. You have an IV (intravenous) line placed in a
vein in case you need medicines or fluid during the procedure.
Your heart is monitored during the test.  A catheter (a hollow,
sterile tube that resembles spaghetti) is inserted through the
skin into a blood vessel-typically in your groin, but possibly
in the neck or arm. Before the catheter is placed, medicine
through a small needle is used to numb the skin and the tissue
underneath the skin in that area. The numbing medicine usually
stings for a second. A needle on a syringe is then inserted, and
some blood is drawn into the syringe, so that the doctor knows
exactly where the blood vessel is located. One end of a wire
(but not the whole wire)