Who needs a Coronary Angioplasty?

Coronary angioplasty is used to restore blood flow to the heart when the coronary (heart) arteries have become narrowed or blocked because of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Angioplasty is one of a number of treatments for CHD. Other treatments include medicines and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Your doctor will consider many factors when deciding what treatment or combination of treatments to recommend.

Compared with CABG, some advantages of angioplasty are that it:

• Doesn’t require an incision (cut)
• Doesn’t require general anesthesia (that is, you won’t be temporarily put to sleep during the procedure)
• Has a shorter recovery time

Angioplasty also is used as an emergency procedure during a heart attack. As plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, it can rupture. This can cause a blood clot to form on the plaque’s surface and block blood flow. The lack of oxygen-rich blood in the heart can damage the heart muscle.

Quickly opening a blockage lessens the damage during a heart attack by restoring blood flow to the heart muscle. Angioplasty usually is the fastest way to open a blocked artery and is the best approach during a heart attack.