Abstract: A cardiac catheter being flexible throughout its length and having a deformable preformed distal end with a memory, that is, the distal end is formed with a set curvature to which the catheter tends to return when the deforming force is removed. A contour or stiffening wire slidably resides within a lumen separate from and parallel to the main fluid lumen of the catheter. The wire lumen is closed at the distal end of the catheter, the wire normally extending through substantially the full length of the wire lumen. The curvature of the preformed end of the catheter may be substantially reduced and the catheter straightened to some degree by extending the wire the full length of the catheter to the distal end thereof. The method of using the catheter employs the contour wire to create a plurality of different curvatures of the distal end of the catheter to aid in obtaining visual representations of different areas of the cardiac system.