Angioplasty for Coronary Artery Disease Angioplasty and related
techniques are known as percutaneous coronary intervention
(PCI). Angioplasty is a procedure in which a narrowed section of
the coronary artery is widened. Angioplasty is less invasive and
has a shorter recovery time than bypass surgery, which is also
done to increase blood flow to the heart muscle but requires
open-chest surgery. Most of the time stents are placed during
angioplasty. angioplasty is done using a thin, soft tube called
a catheter. A doctor inserts the catheter into a blood vessel in
the groin or wrist. The doctor carefully guides the catheter
through blood vessels until it reaches the blocked portion of
the coronary artery. Cardiac catheterization, also called
coronary angiography, is done first to identify any blockages.
slideshow on angioplasty for coronary artery disease to see how
an angioplasty is expandable tube called a stent is often
permanently inserted into the artery during angioplasty. A very
thin guide wire is inside