What Do I Need to Know About
Angioplasty?
By Elizabeth Scherer
The Possible Benefits and
Risks of Angioplasty
Benefits of angioplasty
include:
- relief from angina
- increased ability to exercise
- ability to return to your former levels of
activity
- less need for medicine to control angina symptoms
- possibly less anxiety about a future heart attack
Risks of angioplasty include:
- temporary irregularity of the heartbeat
- bruise in the groin, called a hematoma
- increased angina
- need for emergency bypass surgery
- heart attack
- damage to your artery
- renarrowing of the artery after the procedure
- need for additional procedures
- allergic reaction to the dye used in the cardiac
catheterization
- stroke
- death
During angioplasty, the doctor threads a thin
tube called a
catheter through
your artery to insert a balloon. When the doctor inflates
the balloon, it opens up the blocked
part of the artery. Sometimes a small, flexible tube,
called a
stent, is placed in the artery and left
there to help keep the blood vessel open. This procedure is
called stenting. Doctors often
recommend angioplasty, and possibly stenting, for people
who have
angina that isn't helped by medicines.
Angina is another name for chest pain.
How Can I Know If I'm a Good Candidate for
Angioplasty?
To determine whether you are a good candidate
for angioplasty, your doctor will run
tests and consider the following:
- whether your symptoms can be controlled with
medicine
- your age
- the severity of your angina, including how long you've
had it and how painful or
debilitating it is
- where the blockage is
- how your blood vessels are shaped
- how many vessels are narrowed
- how severe the narrowing is
- how hard or calcified the plaque has become
- your overall health, including the number of previous
heart attacks
you've had
Your doctor may not recommend angioplasty for you in the
following instances.
- The catheter can't reach the blockage.
- Multiple blood vessels have blockages.
- The plaque is too hard, or calcified.
- Your left main coronary artery is significantly
blocked by plaque. This is the blood
vessel that supplies blood to most of your heart.
In these cases, you'll need to discuss other options with
your doctor.
How Can I Make an Informed Decision About
Angioplasty?
If your doctor recommends angioplasty, you will
need to decide whether you should
have the procedure done. To make an informed decision, you
should know:
-
what angioplasty does
-
how angioplasty is
done
-
if there are variations on angioplasty
-
what you can expect in terms of risk and chances of
success
-
what you should ask your doctor before the
surgery
