What happens prior to your procedure?

You will receive a letter from the hospital bookings clerk or from the Doctors secretary outlining the date of your procedure and date and time of your admission to the hospital.

If you are taking anti-coagulation (blood thinning) medication eg warfarin then you will need to stop this for approximately 5 days prior to your procedure. Your doctor may arrange for you to have daily heparin injections after you stop the warfarin.

Patients having the procedure at the Royal Melbourne Hospital will be required to attend the pre-admission clinic on the day prior to the procedure.

Some country patients may need to make arrangements to stay overnight with family or friends.

At the pre-admission clinic you will see a doctor who will record your medical history.  You will also require an ECG and blood test. The doctor will also confirm the time you should be at the hospital for admission the following day.

You will be required to fast for at least six hours before each of the procedures.  If your procedure is in the afternoon you may have a light breakfast.  If your procedure is in the morning, DO NOT EAT OR DRINK AFTER MIDNIGHT, except for sips of water to help you swallow your pills.

Insertion of a CRT device is now a very common procedure. This is performed either under local anaesthetic with sedative medication to make you feel comfortable or under general anaesthetic. Your doctor will discuss this with you. The procedure takes approximately 2 hour and is performed in the cardiac catheter laboratory.

This is a special room that has a patient table, X-Ray tube, ECG monitors and other equipment. The staff in the lab will all be dressed in hospital theatre clothes and during the procedure will be wearing hats and masks.

Many ECG monitoring electrodes will be attached to your chest area. A nurse or doctor will insert an intravenous line usually into the back of your hand.  This is needed as a reliable way to give you medications during the study without further injections. You will also have a blood-pressure cuff attached to your arm that will automatically inflate at various times throughout the procedure.