With all the developments over the past 20 years in interventional cardiology, cardiac catheterization has moved from balloons to mounted stents to drug eluting stents. Technology is in a state of constant, progressive flux, with some technologies working and others performing less well than expected. This well-written text provides the new interventionalist with the basics required for cardiac catheterisation as well as with the latest developments for drug eluting stents, imaging, cardiac flow, the analysis of good and bad results, as well as many more standard routines. Most of the contributors have worked with one of the world's leading interventional cardiologists, Patrick W Serruys of Rotterdam. Under his guidance in one of the busiest cath labs anywhere, the contributors absorbed a considerable amount of technique-based knowledge and experienced high-risk cases not seen in smaller units. Their experience there and in their present positions is the basis for this book.