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December 31, 2020 4:45 PM Darshan Doshi, M.D., M.S., Harvard Health Blog
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A cardiac catheterization may or may not be needed to manage stable coronary artery disease.
One of the main causes of chest pain is a blockage of blood flow down the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that deliver oxygenated blood to our heart muscle to allow it to beat. Depending on how fast the blockage forms, it is labeled as either a stable or unstable blockage.
Unstable blockages occur quickly when an atherosclerotic plaque ruptures within the coronary artery and a clot forms on top of it. The clot, along with the plaque, can obstruct blood flow, deprive heart muscle of oxygen, and lead to a heart attack. This is called an acute coronary syndrome, and it frequently requires a minimally invasive procedure called a cardiac catheterization to diagnose the blockage and then provide options to treat it.