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Angioplasty Overview
Posted: Feb. 1, 2006
Your doctor may consider angioplasty if lifestyle changes and medicines do not improve your symptoms of coronary artery disease. Angioplasty is an alternative to coronary bypass surgery, which is a major operation.
Your doctor will consider several factors when recommending angioplasty or bypass surgery:
- The number of blocked arteries you have
- Severity of the blockages
- Location of the blockages
- Other medical conditions you have
- Your surgical risk for bypass
- Your preference
Angioplasty is often selected if:
- The blockage is small.
- The blockage can be reached by angioplasty.
- The artery affected is not the main artery that supplies blood to the left side of the heart.
- You do not have heart failure.
Angioplasty is done with local anesthesia and mild sedation and has a shorter recovery period than bypass surgery.
The disadvantage of angioplasty is that the artery may close again. If this happens, you may need a second angioplasty or bypass surgery.
Coronary angioplasty is also used as an emergency procedure during a heart attack. Quickly opening a blocked coronary artery minimizes the damage during a heart attack and restores blood flow to the heart muscle. There are also drugs that can be used to dissolve clots in a coronary artery. These drugs are most effective when given within 3 hours after the heart attack begins. Angioplasty performed early, without drugs that dissolve clots, also minimizes damage to the heart muscle.
What to expect
- Angioplasty usually takes 1 to 2 hours, depending on the treatment options your doctor uses.
- During the procedure, you will be awake but sleepy.
- You will be given medicines to help you relax. These medicines may make you feel sleepy or as though you are floating or numb.
- A catheter or tube may be left in the blood vessel after the procedure. It is removed 4–6 hours later. Some doctors use a special device to seal the opening in the blood vessel.
- You must lie still for several hours until the blood vessel seals.
- Usually you can return home in 1 to 2 days.
Angioplasty is performed in a special part of the hospital called the cardiac catheterization lab. This lab has special video screens and X-ray machines that the doctor uses to see enlarged pictures of the blocked areas in your coronary arteries.
Source: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
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