What Is an Angioplasty?

Angioplasty is particularly helpful for people with atherosclerosis or coronary heart disease. 

Angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure used to widen narrow or blocked arteries.

The arteries can become blocked up over time from deposits of plaque — the buildup of fat, cholesterol, cells, and other substances.

This condition is called atherosclerosis, and it can affect any artery in the body.

Doctors conduct angioplasties on more than one million people in the United States each year, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Why the Procedure Is Done

Angioplasty is often used to restore blood flow to the heart in people who have coronary arteries affected by atherosclerosis, a condition called coronary heart disease (CHD), or coronary artery disease. 

For these people, coronary angioplasty may help to reduce heart muscle damage after a heart attack, reduce the risk of heart attacks and death, and improve certain CHD symptoms, such as angina (chest pain) and shortness of breath.

Angioplasty may also be used to help with other issues, including:

•Atherosclerosis in the legs or arms, also known as peripheral artery disease
•Renal vascular hypertension, or high blood pressure caused by the narrowing of the kidney arteries, usually from atherosclerosis
•Carotid artery stenosis, in which the neck arteries supplying blood to the brain become narrowed

Angioplasty Procedure

Before conducting an angioplasty, your doctor will need to locate the narrowed or blocked passages in your arteries through an angiography.

During this procedure, a small tube called a catheter will be inserted into an artery (usually in your groin or arm) and then threaded to the problematic area, such as the coronary arteries.

Then a special dye, which shows up on X-ray images, will be injected into your body through the catheter, allowing your doctor to see the blood flow in your arteries.

Next, during the angioplasty, a catheter with a balloon on its tip will be inserted and threaded to the blocked artery.

The balloon will be expanded to flatten the plaque against the artery wall and improve blood flow, and then deflated and removed.

In some cases, the deflated balloon catheter will be covered with a small wire mesh tube called a stent, which stays in the body permanently to keep the arteries open after the catheter is removed.

Angioplasty Risks

Though uncommon, some serious complications can occur from a coronary angioplasty, including:
•Blood vessel damage and bleeding
•Allergenic reactions or kidney damage from the angiography dye
•Irregular heart beat
•Heart attack
•Stroke
•Artery collapse
•Angina
•Scar tissue and blood clots around stents

Less than two percent of people die during angioplasty, according to the NHLBI.

Sources: everydayhealth.com
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