Cardiovascular procedures include routine noninvasive diagnostic tests as well as more complicated cardiovascular diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Noninvasive tests typically include electrocardiography (ECG), cardiac stress tests, Holter monitoring, tilt table testing, echocardiography, transesophageal echo (TEE), vascular studies, and nuclear cardiography. Interventional cardiovascular procedures involve longer procedure times and recovery periods and include cardiac catheterization, therapeutic cardiovascular procedures, and electrophysiology.
Noninvasive cardiovascular procedures are generally simple, quick, and routine. An ECG may only take 15 minutes while other noninvasive tests range from 30 to 60 minutes. Nuclear stress tests involve the injection of a radionuclide into an arm or leg vein and the injection and scanning are typically performed in the nuclear medicine suite. However, patients may be moved to the noninvasive cardiovascular testing area for the stress testing portion of the study depending on the proximity of the two areas.
The number of noninvasive cardiology procedure rooms can be estimated using the following guidelines for average annual tests per procedure room:
- 5,500 to 6,000 for electrocardiology tests
- 2,000 to 3,000 for tilt table tests
- 2,000 to 2,500 for echocardiography (echo) tests
- 1,250 to 2,000 for transesophageal echo (TEE) tests
- 1,000 to 1,250 for nuclear stress test
Once the number of procedure rooms is determined, the overall space can be estimated assuming a range of 600 to 700 DGSF (55.7 to 65.0 DGSM) per procedure room.
For noninvasive vascular studies, a range of 2,000 to 2,500 annual tests per procedure room can be used and the overall space estimated at 500 to 600 DGSF (46.5 to 55.7 DGSM) per procedure room.
Interventional cardiovascular procedures involve longer procedure times and recovery periods. A diagnostic catheterization may take less than an hour whereas therapeutic catheterizations and electrophysiology procedures my take up to two hours. Some of these techniques may also be used to treat peripheral vascular disease. Outpatients must recover two to four hours after the procedure depending on where the catheter is inserted (groin, arm, or neck) before they can return home.
The number of interventional cardiology procedure rooms can be estimated assuming the following average annual tests per procedure room:
- 1,200 to 1,800 for diagnostic catheterization
- 750 to 1,000 for therapeutic catheterization
A range of 2,000 to 2,500 DGSF (185.8 to 232.3 DGSM) per procedure room can be used for estimating the overall space required for an interventional cardiology suite.
Note: Department gross square feet/meters (DGSF/DGSM) represents the footprint of a department or functional component and includes the net area of the individual rooms as well as the space occupied by internal circulation corridors, walls/partitions, and minor utility shafts. More detailed information can be found in the SpaceMed Guide.
See related post: Sizing Imaging and Procedure Rooms