In 1989, Sky Lakes Medical Center brought in the area's first cardiologist and opened the catheterization labs. Today our services include cardiac catheterization, a special-procedures lab, angiography and pacemaker insertions.

Cardiac catheterization is used to diagnose or treat heart conditions. An ultra thin, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into the body followed by a thin wire, called a stent, which maintains the open space of an artery. This procedure allows physicians to measure blood pressure, how much oxygen is in the blood and other information about the heart.

Angiography also takes place at Sky Lakes Medical Center's catheterization labs (also called the "cath lab") on the hospital’s first floor. To create an angiogram, a catheter is inserted either in the groin or arm area. A dye that is picked up by X-ray is placed in the bloodstream. A medical team traces the flow of the dye and records the path for future evaluation.

Balloon angioplasty and vascular stenting are also performed on-site in the catheterization lab. These techniques are designed to open blocked or narrowed arteries.

Sky Lakes Medical Center's pacemaker clinic is one of only two in southern Oregon that tests pacemakers via telephone.

Take a virtual tour of the Sky Lakes Medical Center Catheterization Labs. Call Diagnostic Imaging at 541-274-6269 for more information.

Go to the Sky Lakes Medical Center's Health Manuals for more information on cardiovascular disease including cardiac catheterization.

What’s your risk of coronary heart disease? Use a tool developed by the Sky Lakes Medical Center Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit using American Heart Association guidelines and find out.