Ask Dr. Z

Provider documents that a 7 French balloon tip Swan-Ganz catheter was advanced into the wedge position where the appropriate pressures, cardiac outputs, and saturations were recorded. He then documents that a 6 French pigtail catheter was advanced into the left ventricle, and simultaneous right and left heart pressures were recorded. Pullback pressures were then recorded in the left and right heart pigtail catheter. In addiiton to the findings for the left heart cath, the report also documents findings for resting right heart pressure, mean right arterial pressure, Fick cardiac output, theromdilution cardiac output, pulmonary vascular resistance. Does this documentation support reporting left and right heart cath? I am not sure if the provider needs to actually state that a catheter was placed in the right heart, or if these findings are enough to support that the catheter was in the right heart.