a procedure in which a balloon is placed into a blocked coronary artery and expanded to allow better blood flow is
They include: 1  Balloon angioplasty. 2  During this procedure, a specially designed catheter with a small balloon tip is guided to the point of narrowing in the artery. 3  Once in place, the balloon is inflated to compress plaque against the artery wall and stretch the artery open to increase blood flow to the heart. 4  Stent. A American Diabetes Association answered. Angioplasty, also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or balloon angioplasty, is a procedure used to remove a blockage in a blood vessel to the heart (coronary angioplasty) or the brain (carotid angioplasty). A small tube with a balloon attached is threaded into the narrowed or blocked blood vessel. Then the balloon is inflated, opening the narrowed artery. A wire mesh tube, called a stent, may be left in place to help keep the artery open. Angioplasty may be done during a heart attack. 1 Coronary angioplasty is accomplished using a balloon-tipped catheter inserted through an artery in the groin or arm to enlarge a narrowing in a coronary artery. 2  Coronary artery disease occurs when cholesterol plaque builds up (arteriosclerosis) in the walls of the arteries to the heart. In addition to the use of simple balloon angioplasty, the availability of stents, in a wire-mesh design, have expanded the spectrum of people suitable for percutaneous coronary intervention, as well as enhanced the safety and long-term results of the procedure. Balloon angioplasty of the coronary artery, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), was introduced in the late 1970's. PTCA is a non-surgical procedure that relieves narrowing and obstruction of the arteries to the muscle of the heart (coronary arteries). Coronary balloon angioplasty and stents facts. 1  Coronary angioplasty is accomplished using a balloon-tipped catheter inserted through an artery in the groin or arm to enlarge a narrowing in a coronary artery. Angioplasty is a procedure to reduce the narrowing of coronary arteries due to plaque. The plaque is pushed to the inside walls of the artery to widen the area for blood to flow. An angioplasty is a procedure to enlarge the opening in a blood vessel that has become narrowed or blocked by plaque (a buildup of fat and cholesterol on the inner wall of the blood vessel). Examples of angioplasty are balloon angioplasty and laser angioplasty. 1 Once in place, the balloon is inflated to compress plaque against the artery wall and stretch the artery open to increase blood flow to the heart. 2  Stent. 3  A stent is a small metal mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to provide support inside your coronary artery. Percutaneous coronary intervention is accomplished with a small balloon catheter inserted into an artery in the groin or arm, and advanced to the narrowing in the coronary artery. The balloon is then inflated to enlarge the narrowing in the artery.
Balloon angioplasty