Cardiac Angiography Suite (CAS)

Our patients are admitted for the procedures carried out in angiography and pacing, transoesophageal echo-cardiography (TOE) - in which the patient swallows a transducer inside a flexible tube which is guided into the oesophagus - and elective cardioversion.

We admit people from home and also from neighbouring district general hospitals as transfers. These patients usually go back to their local district general hospital the same day.

Coming to the Cardiac Angiography Suite

Patients come to a pre-admission clinic (PAC) before treatment. These clinics are held daily.

At the clinic they see a doctor and have various tests, such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood tests.

We give them information about the procedure and admission, and a date for the procedure. The admission process lasts less than an hour.

The cardioversion procedure itself is performed by an experienced nurse with an anaesthetist in attendance.

After treatment patients go home the same day. We have procedures to ensure that they stay safe, for example checking they have someone to drive them home and stay with them in the house overnight.

We give patients information about wound care and general health to take home with them.

There is also a nurse-led Cardioversion Clinic on Thursdays, for patients with atrial flutter/fibrillation.

Angiography and pacing

Angiography is a type of X-ray examination that creates detailed images of the arteries and the blood flow inside them.

It involves injecting a special dye, called contrast medium, into the arteries. Abnormalities then show up on the resulting image, called an angiogram.

In the Cardiac Angiography Suite patients can undergo:

• coronary angiography / PCI (angioplasty and stent insertion)
• radio frequency ablation, a procedure where catheters are placed inside the heart and a map of electrical activity is charted. When the source of an abnormality is found, high-energy radio waves are used to remove the tissue
  
• congenital diagnostic interventional procedures such as permanent pacemaker insertion, reveal loop recorder insertion/removal and ICD implant and box change.
  

Find us and contact us

Cardiac Angiography Suite (CAS)
Tel: 01865 572615 / 572616

Siphiwe Mguni, Sister
Tel: 01865 572613

The Cardiac Angiography Suite (CAS) is on Level -1 of the Oxford Heart Centre. The external door to CAS is on the left hand side of the road when going up the hill between the West Wing and the JR Level 2 main entrance.

See 'Drop-off for CAS day cases only' on the map at the link below:

John Radcliffe Hospital site map (pdf)

How to find the John Radcliffe Hospital