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Cardiac Catheterization and Intervention Services
University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center
Coronary Balloon Angioplasty
Arteries can become blocked or narrowed when plaque builds up in an artery wall in an arm, leg or neck. Angioplasty is a cardiac catheterization procedure in which a balloon catheter is inserted into the artery to unblock it.
Angioplasty is used to treat:
- Coronary artery disease - narrowing or blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the heart
- Angina pectoris - chest pain
- Peripheral vascular disease - blocked arteries in the limbs, especially the legs
- Carotid artery disease - narrowing or blockage of the blood vessels in your neck
- (Coronary angioplasty may also be done after a heart attack to reduce heart muscle damage.)
The benefits of angioplasty are that:
- It can restore blood flow in the artery without major surgery.
- It does not require replacing blood vessels in one part of your body with blood vessels removed from another part of your body (as is often necessary in bypass surgery).
- It can be performed without using general anesthesia.
If the blocked artery supplies blood to the heart, the procedure is called coronary angioplasty, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA).
During the procedure, the catheter is inserted into a blood vessel either at the wrist, elbow or groin. The catheter is pushed through the blood vessel to the blockage in the artery. Inflating a balloon at the tip of the catheter stretches the narrowed artery. The stretching of the artery greatly improves blood flow through the artery. Often a metal device called a stent is left in the artery to improve chances that the blood vessel will stay open.
Coronary angioplasty is successful over 90 percent of the time. Two-thirds of the people with successful coronary angioplasty have good long-term results. Some people's arteries may narrow and need angioplasty again. This usually happens within six months of having the procedure.
