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Central venous cannulation is an essential skill for all cardiovascular specialists and provides a safe and secure route for the administration of parenteral agents. Often performed in an emergent fashion, where intravenous access is required for delivery of potentially life saving medication, this technique may also be used when limited peripheral options are available.

In the catheterization laboratory and the intensive care unit, right heart catheterization (RHC) can provide vital physiologic information. Although clinical trials have never demonstrated improved outcomes with RHC, when used appropriately, it is viewed as an invaluable tool for the hemodynamic monitoring and management of critically ill patients with cardiovascular disease.

There are over one million percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) performed each year in the United States. PCI refers to catheter- based procedures that allow for improved perfusion through epicardial coronary arteries to the myocardium. PCI originally referred to percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, a solely balloon-based procedure, but has since expanded to include directional, rotational, orbital and extraction atherectomy, excimer laser angioplasty, and most commonly, stent deployment. The devices used for PCI are meant to relieve coronary stenoses by several mechanisms including fracturing or debulking the atherosclerotic plaque and stretching the target arterial segment. PCI is successful in reducing fatal and nonfatal ischemic complications in patients with acute myocardial infarction and high-risk acute coronary syndromes.