Angioplasty is a non-surgery procedure, used to open blocked heart arteries. The procedure is performed in a cardiac lab by a cardiologist and a team of nurses and technicians. Angioplasty relieves the recurrence of chest pain, increases life and reduces the risk of disease. Angioplasty is only necessary to have, if you have coronary artery disease. When the procedure happens, the doctor threads a thin tube though 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. After the tube is in place, the doctor inflates the balloon to push any plaque away from the wall of the artery. .
Angioplasty is a procedure that is used for blocked arteries. Angioplasty helps stimulate blood flow. In Angioplasty, the first step is that you will receive medication to help you relax you and then the doctor numbs where the catheter will be placed and you will receive anesthesia. Next, a thin plastic tube (called a sheath) is placed into your arteries- most of the time it is in your groin, but sometimes it is in your arm, which is passed up the sheath. This helps guide up the blood vessels to the arteritis that surrounds your heart. A small amount of material is put in the catheter and is pictured through an x-ray as goes through the heart, valves, and the major vessels. This procedure can take about 1 ½ hours to 2 ½ hours, taking in the preparation and recovery time adds several hours. Also, it is a possibility that you will be admitted overnight with this operation by the doctors and the nurses to make sure the procedure worked fully. Doctors also may use this procedure for reducing chest pain caused by low blood flow to the heart and decreasing damage to heart muscle, if a person has a heart attack. Angioplasty can help improve symptoms, such as shortness of breath and chest pain. (No author. ( 19 October 2012 ). MedlinePlus. In Angioplasty.