Obesity as a determinant of radiation burden in the cardiac catheterization laboratory

At a glance

Type of study

Narrative review

Who was studied

Interventional cardiologists, Electrophysiologists, Patients

Topics

Patient doseDose reduction techniquesPersonal protective equipmentRoom shielding and protective devicesDosimetry and monitoringSafety culture and compliance

Summary based on

the abstract

What it found

• Higher body mass index impairs X-ray penetration, so fluoroscopy systems raise output, giving patients with obesity substantially higher doses across cardiac procedures.

• Operators experience disproportionate increases in scatter radiation with patients with obesity, creating cumulative occupational risk.

• Obesity increases procedural complexity, including harder vascular access, prolonged fluoroscopy, suboptimal shielding and steeper projections, further raising radiation burden.

• The authors propose an obesity-aware framework combining fluoroscopy optimisation, shielding, real-time dosimetry, enhanced protection devices, workflow changes and quality improvement.

Limits to keep in mind

Narrative review summarised from the abstract only; no pooled data, effect sizes or search methods are reported, and the proposed framework is not tested.

Related research summaries

• Radiation Exposure, Training, and Safety in Cardiology (2024, Narrative review)
• Radiation Safety in Chronic Total Occlusion Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (2025, Narrative review)
• Radiation protection practices in diagnostic and interventional cardiology: Position paper from Portuguese Association of Interventional Cardiology (2025, Guideline or consensus statement)
• Radiation safety program for the cardiac catheterization laboratory (2011, Guideline or consensus statement)
• Radiation-Induced Noncancer Risks in Interventional Cardiology: Optimisation of Procedures and Staff and Patient Dose Reduction (2013, Narrative review)