Intracardiac
In medicine, the positioning within the heart is called intracardial (from Latin intra "inside", "inside" and Greek cardia "heart") .
Intracardiac injection
Intracardiac injection (heart injection) is the administration of a drug directly into the heart . It is a form of parenteral application of active ingredients. The injection is made through the chest wall into the right ventricle, as this is closer to the anterior chest wall, has a thinner wall and there is a lower pressure in it than in the left ventricle.
Intracardiac injections are usually only carried out in absolute emergencies, when intravenous administration is no longer possible, e.g. B. in a cardiac arrest . The onset of action is very quick. In experimental medicine, intracardiac injections or cardiac punctures are sometimes used to take blood from small test animals, since in these the veins are usually too small for puncture .
In humans, this form of injection is obsolete, as a puncture of the left heart (high pressure system) cannot be ruled out (risk of heart failure due to pericardial tamponade ). Controlled intracardiac injection has recently been used in stem cell therapy for myocardial infarction .
Intracardiac EKG
With an intracardiac electrocardiogram , the electrodes of the EKG are advanced into the heart via an arm or leg vein. This allows cardiac arrhythmias to be differentiated more precisely. It is also used to check the position of a central venous catheter .
