Angioplasty, also known as coronary angioplasty or percutaneous coronary intervention is a minimally invasive procedure used to widen the occluded blood vessels or to relieve stenosis (blockage) of blood vessels to ensure proper blood flow to the heart. The procedure is done when a person develops Coronary Artery Disease or CAD.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) causes arteries to get stenosed or become narrow because of the deposition of calcium and fat called plaque on the arterial walls. This build-up is called atherosclerosis, which if left untreated, can lead to heart attack.

Angioplasty can be performed for two main reasons:

• During or after a heart attack: Angioplasty is done to quickly open a blocked artery to minimize the damage to the heart. Due to complete blockage of arteries and absence of oxygen to heart muscles, heart muscles can get damaged or this can even lead to death.
• Chest pain/Angina: The arteries of the heart are narrowed and this increases the stress on the heart to meet the oxygen demand causing chest pain, and shortness of breath also known as angina. Angioplasty can be done as a planned procedure when medicines have failed to work.

Your doctor would recommend you to undergo an angioplasty if:

• You suffer from chest pain or shortness of breath due to CAD and medicines have failed to help.
• You have significant blockage in one or a maximum of two coronary arteries. If the number of arteries involved is multiple or blockages are multiple, heart bypass is the procedure of choice.
• You underwent heart bypass and the graft is now closed or blocked.

Not everyone suffering from CAD or atherosclerosis is a good candidate for Angioplasty. If your heart muscles are already weak if you have blockages in multiple vessels or if the narrowing is in the main artery bringing blood to the heart, you would need a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, or CABG commonly called open heart surgery.

• Balloon Angioplasty
  Balloon angioplasty is done by passing a catheter or thin tube through a small incision in the upper leg or arm and the catheter is passed through the artery to the place of clog. The balloon is expanded to push the plaque and expand the artery.
• Stenting
  Stents are small and expandable metal devices for expanding narrow arteries and to prevent them from closing again. Stenting is most often combined with ballooning angioplasty for long-lasting results and thus prevents the problem of restenosis of the dilated artery. One, because they do not allow the balloon to collapse inside the artery and second, modern stents are medicine-coated stents or drug-eluting stents which reduce the rate of in-stent restenosis.
• Rotablation
  Rotablation is done when the plaques are too hard to be cut or crossed by balloons or stents. A special guide wire is passed to the site of stenosis followed by a drill powered by compressed air that is advanced at a speed of around 140,000 to 160,000 rpm. The process of drilling cuts the plaque’s calcium deposits into small particles which are removed from the body naturally. This is followed by normal angioplasty- ballooning and stent placement.

Patients can be discharged after an overnight stay at the hospital. It depends on the condition of the patient’s health and the doctor’s advice. After surgery the patient is advised to have a lot of fluid intake and not to do any heavy lifting, exercise, or smoking for the next 24 hours.

Angioplasty increases blood flow through narrowed and blocked arteries. Angina is decreased and health improves with exercise. With proper changes in lifestyle and medications, the improvement of health is good. No further surgery is usually necessary, such as bypass after a successful coronary angioplasty.