Stent procedures are usually used along with balloon angioplasty. By keeping the vessel open, the stent helps to improve blood flow to the heart muscle and reduce the pain of angina. When a stent is placed inside of a coronary artery, it acts as a support or scaffold, keeping the vessel open. What is a stent?Ī stent is a small, mesh-like device made of metal. Angioplasty can also be performed in the aorta (the main artery that comes from your heart), the iliac artery (in your hip), the femoral artery (in your thigh), the popliteal artery (behind your knee), and the tibial and peroneal arteries (in your lower leg). A stroke most often occurs when the carotid arteries become blocked and the brain does not get enough oxygen. For example, doctors can perform carotid angioplasty to open narrowed carotid arteries, which are the arteries that supply blood to the brain. Angioplasty is also called percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA).Īlthough this topic deals with the coronary arteries in the heart, balloon angioplasty can also be used to open narrowed vessels in many other parts of your body.
They inflate the balloon at the blockage site in the artery to flatten or compress the plaque against the artery wall.
They use a long, thin tube called a catheter that has a small balloon on its tip. Interventional cardiologists perform angioplasty, which opens narrowed arteries. One option is a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), such as balloon angioplasty or a stent. But, because medicines cannot clear blocked arteries, a very narrowed coronary artery may need more treatment to reduce the risk of a heart attack. In time, the narrowed or blocked artery can lead to a heart attack.Ī number of medicines can be used to relieve the angina pain that comes with CAD. As the plaque builds up, the artery narrows, making it more difficult for blood to flow to the heart.Īs the blockage gets worse, blood flow to the heart slows and a condition called angina may develop. CAD most often results from a condition known as atherosclerosis, which happens when a waxy substance forms inside the arteries that supply blood to your heart. Coronary artery disease (CAD) affects more than 15 million Americans, making it the most common form of heart disease.
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