Patients scheduled for coronary artery catheterization are traditionally instructed to take nothing by mouth after midnight before their procedure, often enduring 6 hours or more without food or drink. This practice is associated with several adverse effects, including discomfort, irritability, dehydration, thirst, hunger, and a heightened risk of hypoglycemia. Remarkably, the existing guidelines for fasting before cardiac catheterization lack solid empirical backing, especially for low- to medium-risk patients. The purported risks associated with breaking this fast, such as gastric content regurgitation, aspiration pneumonia, and the need for emergency intubation, are exceedingly rare, with an incidence less than 0.4%. This low incidence is consistent with the consensus that differences in gastric complications are minimal between patients fasting for a mere 2 hours versus the traditional overnight fast. Furthermore, data regarding the potential risks and benefits of current fasting practices are scarce, beyond the perceived safety concerns or the need for adherence...

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