This procedure removes a very small sample of your heart muscle so that it can be evaluated in a lab. A cardiac biopsy is often done to find out the cause of a weakened heart muscle (known as cardiomyopathy), or to check for rejection after a heart transplant.
A cardiac biopsy involves catheterization, so it’s a minimally invasive procedure–this means everything is done through a very small incision.
The Cardiac Catheterization Lab UR Medicine Cardiac Care is the most advanced lab of its kind in the Rochester region. We perform many procedures that aren’t available at other hospitals, and we were the first in the region to perform procedures such as angioplasty and coronary stenting.
Our doctors are all fellowship trained—the highest level of training available–and we perform more cardiac biopsies than any other center in our region.
Heart biopsies are a routine part of caring for heart transplant patients. UR Medicine is the only hospital in the region that offers heart transplantation for patients with advanced heart failure.
For details on cardiac biopsies at UR Medicine, call us at (585) 275-2475.