In this paper, a large-scale multicentre patient dose study performed in eight Belgian interventional cardiology departments is presented. Effective dose ( E ) was calculated based on a detailed dose–area product (DAP)-registration during each procedure and by using conversion coefficients generated by the Monte Carlo-based computer program PCXMC. Conversion coefficients were found to be 0.177 mSv Gycm−2 for systems that do not use any additional copper filtration in cineradiography and 0.207 mSv Gycm−2 for systems that use additional copper filtration in cineradiography. Mean E values of 9.6 and 15.3 mSv for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, respectively, were obtained. DAP distributions were investigated in order to derive dose reference levels: 71 and 106 Gycm2 for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, respectively, are proposed. Significant differences were observed in DAP distributions taking into account whether additional copper filtration was used in the cineradiography mode. Apart from the skin, the organs most at risk are lungs and heart. The probability of fatal cancer for the studied population amounted to 1.1 × 10−4 and 2.1 × 10−4 for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, respectively, for the age distribution of the patients considered in this multicentre study.