Long wait for angiography increases patient risk.

KEY POINTS Despite an explosion in the number of cardiac catheterizations being performed today, patients who rely on public assistance may have to wait for an angiogram if they are unable to pay on their own. A Texas study of patients in a state-owned hospital reports that after two weeks on a waiting list for angiography, the risk of cardiac events and hospitalization rises. When patients are placed on a waiting list, priority should be given to those who have strongly positive stress tests or who take two or three different medications for ischemic heart disease.