In medicine, countless tests and procedures are performed every day. These procedures, regardless of how invasive or noninvasive, require patients to be "Nil Per Oral" (NPO) for several hours before the procedure. Traditionally, preoperative fasting is mandatory to prevent any risks related to aspiration during anesthesia. When anesthesia is induced in patients, it inhibits the patient's coughing and swallowing reflex, resulting in a greater risk for the patient to aspirate any gastric contents. Gastric contents that are highly acidic can cause irritation and inflammation in the lungs which can impede gas exchange leading to imminent death of the patient (Andrew-Romit & Mortel, 2011). Therefore, long fasting periods were always implemented to allow emptying of the stomach during induction of anesthesia. However, current studies show much information and evidence demonstrating that pulmonary aspiration very rarely occurs as a complication of modern general anesthesia (Gunawardhana, 2012). Cardiac catheterization or coronary angiography is one of the most common and minimally invasive procedures performed by a cardiologist. intensivist. Pre-procedure fasting or NPO has been the standard care protocol since the beginning due to vomiting very commonly caused by first generation radioactive contrast materials which were nearly toxic in nature (Kern, 2010). However, modern contrast agents approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are much safer as various studies show very rare incidences of adverse effects such as vomiting, contrast-related hypotension, or arrhythmias (Kern, 2010). For a patient, cardiac catheterization can be a nerve-wracking experience as it reveals any blockages in the coronary arteries... middle of the paper... ilization. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 12(1), 48-51. Retrieved from http://www.jcafulltextonline.com/article/S0952-8180(99)00139-7/abstractPolit, D. F. & Beck, C. T. (2012). Nursing Research: Generating and Evaluating Evidence for Nursing Practice (9th Edition) Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Rosengarten, J., Ozkor, M., & Knight, C. (2007). Fasting and cardiac catheterization: should we follow the evidence? Controversies and Consensus in Imaging and Intervention, 5(2), 21-23. Retrieved from http://c2i2.digithalamus.com/vol_v_issue_2/Fasting_and_cardiac_catheterisation.aspSalman, OH, Asida, S. M., & Ali, H. S. (2013). Current knowledge, practice and attitude of preoperative fasting: a limited survey among anesthesiologists in Upper Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Anesthesia, 29(2), 125–130.doi:10.1016/j.egja.2012.10.007.