Heart Catheterization with Dr. Patricia Best
Department of Cardiovascular Disease
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota

As we age, it becomes vitally important to take care of our heart. In today’s society that is something that can be taken for granted with our lifestyles and diet. As a result, heart disease is among the leading killers among not only men but women as well. A common procedure that is performed to diagnose cardiovascular conditions is a heart catheterization. We had the unique opportunity to document one of these procedures at one of the most respected medical institutions in the world, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Dr. Patricia Best specializes in internal medicine, and allowed us to join her as she performed a heart catheterization on a 67-year old woman to better understand issues she is having with her cardiovascular system. Being in the procedure room with Dr. Best and the professionals working with her was an honor. Witnessing how the technology makes this possible is something that can put you at ease knowing that these highly trained physicians can diagnose what may be wrong and offer accurate treatments. Being able to see the heart on a big screen in motion was something that makes you understand just how fragile it really is.

The procedure lasted about thirty minutes and at the conclusion Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a cardiologist and the founder of the Women’s Heart Clinic at Mayo, came in to review the film with Dr. Best so as to accurately diagnose the patient’s issues. The consensus was that the patient would need to undergo cardiovascular bypass surgery.