The invisible gorilla in the cath lab: can we fly away from it?

It may seem improbable to encounter a gorilla in a catheterisation laboratory (cath lab) and it is natural to assume that it would be immediately noticeable. Yet, this figurative gorilla conceals itself in plain sight within our cath labs, eluding detection. Based on the principles outlined in “The Invisible Gorilla” by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons1, here, we specifically focus on the cognitive illusions and perceptual errors that impact interventional cardiology practice, rather than the broader pitfalls that may affect clinical judgment. Those “invisible gorilla” scenarios contribute to medical error, and combined with a lack of uniform reporting systems and inconsistent training protocols, lead to discrepancies in performance across the globe. To address these challenges, we look for solutions in a field renowned for its safety protocols and error management strategies: aviation.

In a well-known video experiment2, viewers are asked to count the passes of basketball players. A person wearing a gorilla costume walks across the scene but nearly half the viewers fail to notice him. Overlooking unexpected events when...