Angioplasty

Angioplasty is a procedure that widens a narrowed or blocked blood vessel, usually by inflating a balloon catheter inside it. It can restore blood flow and is often combined with stent placement.

Balloon catheter: A catheter with an inflatable balloon near its tip, used to widen narrowed passages or vessels. Its inflated balloon compresses plaque and enlarges the treated vessel.
Coronary artery disease: A condition in which plaque narrows or blocks the arteries supplying the heart muscle. Coronary angioplasty can improve blood flow through affected heart arteries.
Coronary artery bypass surgery: An operation that routes blood around narrowed coronary arteries using graft vessels. Bypass surgery reroutes blood rather than widening the narrowed segment.
Vascular access site complication: Bleeding, bruising, or vessel injury occurring where a catheter enters the body. Catheter entry can cause complications at the wrist or groin access site.
Percutaneous coronary intervention: A catheter-based procedure that opens narrowed coronary arteries, often using balloon angioplasty and stents. It is the common coronary form of angioplasty.
Peripheral artery disease: A circulatory condition caused by narrowed arteries outside the heart and brain, commonly affecting the legs. Angioplasty can reopen limb arteries and address blood-flow symptoms.
Medical management of coronary artery disease: Treatment of coronary artery disease with medicines and risk-factor control rather than an artery-opening procedure. For some stable cases, medication can be chosen instead of angioplasty.
Contrast-induced nephropathy: A decline in kidney function following exposure to iodinated contrast material. Contrast dye used for imaging can pose added risk to vulnerable kidneys.
Coronary stent: A small mesh tube implanted in an artery to help keep it open. A stent can support the vessel after balloon dilation.
Carotid artery stenosis: Narrowing of a carotid artery, usually caused by atherosclerotic plaque. Selected cases are treated with balloon angioplasty, often alongside stenting.

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