I chose cardiac cath lab as my elective rotation, and it did not disappoint. I observed a quick and simple coronary catheterization that took all of five minutes, and the rest of my time was spent watching a complicated angioplasty. An x-ray technician pointed out what the cardiologist was looking at on the screen as he explained the anatomy and physiology I was observing. The progress of the angioplasty was slow and steady, but as one of the nurses was removing the wires and preparing to close the puncture sites the patient went into ventricular fibrillation. After a brief second of confusion, the cardiologist quickly began CPR as the nurses prepared to defibrillate the patient with an AED. Minutes later the patient’s heart returned to a normal
