Occupational hazards of interventional cardiology

Complex catheter-based interventions and rising case volumes confer occupational risks to interventional cardiologists. Despite advances in technology, modern interventional procedures are performed in a manner remarkably similar to the techniques pioneered decades ago. Percutaneous interventions are associated with operator orthopedic injuries, exposures to blood borne pathogens, and the effects of chronic radiation exposure from fluoroscopy. This review highlights the occupational hazards of interventional procedures and provides a glimpse at the technologies and techniques that may reduce risks to operators in the catheterization laboratory.