Angiography & Angioplasty

Angiography & Angioplasty

Angiography / Angioplasty

Angiography and angioplasty are two different medical procedures that are related to the blood vessels. While angiography is used to investigate or examine your blood vessels for a potential heart condition, angioplasty involves widening the narrowed arteries to treat the condition.

Angiogram

An angiogram, also called an arteriogram or angiography, is a diagnostic procedure that creates pictures of your blood vessels. It takes a series of x-rays using an iodine dye — called contrast — that helps to reveal blood flow through vessels and any blockages they may have.

During Procedure

In this minimally invasive procedure, a doctor inserts a catheter into a main artery, usually the femoral artery in your leg or sometimes through hand according patient condition.

Angioplasty

An angioplasty is a procedure that opens or unblocks an affected blood vessel to improve blood flow. This less-invasive procedure is also known as PTCA, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) due to the techniques used. 

During Procedure

In angioplasty, doctors will insert a catheter into your main artery and guide it to the blockage. This catheter has a small balloon at the tip that inflates and compresses the blockage, opening your blood vessel and improving blood flow. Sometimes, doctors insert a wire-mesh stent at the same time to keep the artery from collapsing.

There are several types of angioplasty depending on the location:

• Coronary angioplasty
• Cerebral angioplasty
• Renal artery angioplasty
• PTCA of the femoral artery
• Balloon pulmonary angioplasty
• Carotid artery angioplasty

You might also receive laser angioplasty, in which doctors remove the blockage using laser radiation.