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What is Angioplasty?
Before a scheduled angioplasty, your doctor will review your medical history and do a physical exam. You'll also have an imaging test called a coronary angiogram to determine if your blockages can be treated with angioplasty. A coronary angiogram helps doctors determine if the main arteries to your heart are narrowed or blocked. A liquid dye is injected into the arteries of your heart through a catheter a long, thin tube that's fed through an artery, usually in your groin, to arteries in your heart. As the dye fills your arteries, they become visible on X-ray and video, so your doctor can see where your arteries are blocked. If your doctor finds a blockage during your coronary angiogram, it's possible he or she may decide to perform angioplasty and stenting immediately after the angiogram while you're heart is still catheterized.
Read more on www.mayoclinic.com
Also known as pci, ptca, percutaneous coronary intervention, drug-eluting stents, Angioplasties, Endoluminal Repair, heart artery dilatation, Endoluminal Repairs
Angioplasty information from trusted sources:
Angioplasty
Coronary angioplasty (AN-jee-o-plas-tee), also referred to as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is a procedure used to open clogged heart arteries. Angioplasty involves temporarily inserting and blowing up a tiny balloon where your artery is clogged to help widen the artery. Read more on
www.mayoclinic.com
Angioplasty
If you have coronary artery disease, the arteries in your heart are narrowed or blocked by a sticky material called plaque. Angioplasty is a procedure to restore blood flow through the artery. The doctor threads a thin tube through a blood vessel in the arm or groin up to the involved site in the artery. The tube has a tiny balloon on the end. When the tube is in place, the doctor inflates the balloon to push the plaque outward against the wall of the artery. This widens the artery and restores blood flow. Read more on
www.nlm.nih.gov
Coronary angioplasty
Coronary angioplasty is a surgical procedure to open up blocked or narrowed coronary arteries (blood vessels leading to the heart). It is used to treat coronary artery disease and is a fairly straightforward, minimally invasive (keyhole) procedure. About 45,000 angioplasties are carried out in the UK every year. The medical name for coronary angioplasty is percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Coronary angioplasty is most commonly used to treat angina, which is pain coming from the heart (see box). It may also be carried out as emergency treatment after a heart attack. Read more on
www.nhs.uk
Angioplasty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, typically as a result of atherosclerosis. ... Read more on
en.wikipedia.org
What is coronary angioplasty?
Coronary angioplasty is a procedure used to open blocked or narrowed coronary (heart) arteries. Read more on
www.nhlbi.nih.gov
Angioplasty and Stents for Heart Disease Treatment
Angioplasty and stents are commonly used to treat heart disease today. Learn more about them. Read more on
www.webmd.com
Angioplasty and Vascular Stenting
Current and accurate information for patients about Angioplasty and Vascular Stenting. Learn what you might experience, how to prepare for the exam, ... Read more on
www.radiologyinfo.org
Angioplasty
PTCA or balloon angioplasty in the treatment of coronary artery blockages, explained to patients with the use of Multimedia. Read more on
www.heartsite.com
Coronary Balloon Angioplasty and Stents Procedure Information by ...
Mar 10, 2011 ... Balloon angioplasty of the coronary artery, or percutaneous transluminal coronary ... In addition to the use of simple balloon angioplasty, ... Read more on
www.medicinenet.com
Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (previously called Angioplasty ...
Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (previously called Angioplasty, Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary [PTCA], or Balloon Angioplasty) ... Read more on
www.americanheart.org
Contents
Results
For most people, coronary angioplasty greatly increases blood flow through the previously blocked artery for many years. Your chest pain should decrease, and you may have a better ability to exercise. However, if your symptoms return, such as chest pain or shortness of breath, or other symptoms similar to those you had before your procedure, contact your doctor. If you have chest pain at rest or pain that doesn't respond to nitroglycerin, call 911 or emergency medical help.
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www.mayoclinic.com
Risks
Although angioplasty is a less invasive way to open clogged arteries, the procedure still carries some risks. The most common angioplasty risks include: Re-narrowing of your artery (restenosis). A major drawback of coronary angioplasty is the chance that your artery will re-narrow (restenosis) within months of the procedure. With angioplasty alone without stent placement restenosis happens in as many as 30 to 40 percent of cases. Stents were developed to reduce restenosis. The original bare-metal stents reduce the chance of restenosis to less than 20 percent, and the use of drug-eluting stents has reduced the risk to less than 10 percent. Blood clots. Blood clots can form within stents even weeks or months after angioplasty. These clots may cause a heart attack. It's important to take aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix) and other medications exactly as prescribed to decrease the chance of clots forming in your stent. Talk to your doctor about how long you'll need to take these medications and whether or not they can be discontinued if you need surgery. Bleeding. You may have bleeding at the site in your leg or arm where catheters were inserted. Usually this simply results in a bruise, but sometimes serious bleeding occurs and may require blood transfusion or surgical procedures.
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www.mayoclinic.com
What you can expect
During the procedure Coronary angioplasty isn't considered surgery because it's less invasive your body isn't cut open except for a very small cut in a blood vessel in the leg, arm or wrist through which a small, thin tube (called a catheter) is threaded and the procedure performed. The entire procedure can take 30 minutes to several hours, depending on how many blockages you have and whether any complications arise.
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www.mayoclinic.com
Why it's done
Angioplasty is used to treat a type of heart disease known as atherosclerosis. This term refers to the slow buildup of fatty plaques in your heart's blood vessels. When medications or lifestyle changes aren't enough to improve your heart health, or if you have a heart attack, worsening chest pain (angina) or other symptoms, your doctor might suggest angioplasty as a treatment option.
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www.mayoclinic.com