Which invasive cardiology procedure is listed?

• A. Angioplasty
• B. Cardiac catheterization
• C. Echocardiography
• D. Pacemaker insertion

Answer: (B)

Invasive cardiology procedures involve entering the body to access the heart or its vessels for diagnosis or treatment. Cardiac catheterization fits this description because it requires threading a catheter through a peripheral artery or vein into the heart, often with imaging guidance and contrast dye to obtain direct measurements, visualize anatomy, and sometimes enable treatment. This makes it the quintessential invasive step in interventional cardiology.

Echocardiography, by contrast, uses ultrasound from outside the chest and is noninvasive. Angioplasty is typically performed during the catheterization as a treatment to open narrowed arteries, so it isn’t defined on its own as the invasive procedure—it's an intervention done through the catheter. Pacemaker insertion involves implanting a device, which is invasive but falls into a different category of procedures.