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California Diagnostic Catheterization Volume and Sociodemographic Comparisons

During the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020, total California Diagnostic Catheterization (DxCath) volume declined by over 13,000 procedures (19 percent) compared to pre-pandemic levels observed in 2019.

Why Analyze Diagnostic Catheterization Volume?

DxCaths are specifically defined as diagnostic left heart catheterizations. In this procedure, a catheter is passed into the left ventricle of the heart to perform a coronary angiogram or to measure ventricular pressures and/or oxygen saturation (diagnostic Left Heart Catheterizations are defined according to the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) CathPCI Registry Full Specifications Data Dictionary v5.0). During the COVID pandemic, there were noted declines in other cardiovascular procedures (Effects of COVID-19 on Hospital Utilization Trends) with variations by different demographics. The current analysis was completed to assess changes in DxCath volume during the first year of COVID.

Key Findings

  • The total DxCath volume for 2019 was 67,982 compared to a total DxCath volume of 54,972 for 2020. The total percent decrease across these years was 19 percent. The largest percent decrease was observed for Q2 (33 percent).
  • All categories of Age Group and Sex experienced an approximate 20 percent decrease from 2019 to 2020.
  • The most common form of health insurance for DxCath patients, Private Insurance Only, had a 19 percent decrease from 2019 to 2020 and Medicare Plus Private Insurance, the second most common form of health insurance, decreased by 17 percent during this time. The average percent decrease for all health insurance payment sources was 22 percent.
  • The average percent decrease of all Non-White racial groupings was 24 percent. The largest percent decrease was observed for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (31 percent), followed by Asian (26 percent) and Black (24 percent).

California Diagnostic Catheterization (DxCath)
Procedure Volume by Quarter


The visualization below displays the volume of DxCaths for 2019 and 2020 by quarter and annually. The percent decreases are provided in the hover over function (Tool Tip) for each of the bar charts.

California Diagnostic Catheterizations (DxCaths) by Sociodemographic Category


The visualization below displays the volume of DxCaths for Age Group, Health Insurance Payment Source, Race/Ethnicity, and Sex. The percent decreases are provided in the hover over function (Tool Tip) for each of the bar charts.

How HCAI Created This Product

  • The source for this data report is the NCDR CathPCI Registry® January-December 2019 and January-December 2020. The NCDR is an initiative of the American College of Cardiology Foundation®.
  • NCDR CathPCI Registry® DxCath data was obtained from 138 hospitals in 2019 and 137 hospitals in 2020.
  • Health Insurance Payment Sources definitions are based on definitions used by the NCDR CathPCI Registry® as the following:
    • Private Insurance Only: Only Private Insurance
    • Medicare Plus Private Insurance: Medicare and Private Insurance
    • Medicare Plus Other Insurance: Medicare and Military Health Care or Non-US Insurance
    • Medi-Cal Plus Other Insurance: Medi-Cal and Private Insurance or Military Health Care or Non-US Insurance
    • Dual Eligible: Medicare and Medi-Cal; or Medicare and State-Specific Plan (Non-Medi-Cal) or Indian Health Service; or Medi-Cal and State-Specific Plan (Non-Medi-Cal) or Indian Health Service
    • All Other Insurance: State-Specific Plan (Non-Medi-Cal) or Military Health Care or Indian Health Service or Non-US Insurance
View Underlying Data

Additional Information

Topic: Healthcare Quality
Source Link: NCDR CathPCI Registry Data
Citation: NCDR CathPCI Registry – California Diagnostic Catheterization (DxCath) Volume and Sociodemographic Comparisons, 2019-2020
Temporal Coverage: 2019-2020
Spatial/Geographic Coverage: Statewide
Frequency: Annually