Angioplasty And Vascular Stents

During the angiogram procedure and x-ray dye is injected through the catheter in order to allow coronary arteries to show on x-ray. The angiogram would show where the blockages are. Angioplasty or stenting may be done right away. if needed.

Angioplasty is used to restore normal blood flow when a vein or artery is too narrow or blocked. It is normally done in an interventional radiology suite rather than operating room.

Angioplasty with or without vascular stenting, uses a balloon-tipped catheter to open a blocked blood vessel and improve blood flow.

The doctor uses medical imaging (e.g. x-ray fluoroscopy) to guide the catheter to the blockage. The balloon is inflated to open the vessel and compress the plaque against the walls of the vessel, widening the channel. This will improve blood flow. It may be done with or without a metal mesh tube called a stent. The stent is left inside after the procedure is completed and remains there forever to help keep the blood vessel it open.

An angiogram is then done to confirm that the artery has been opened, improving blood flow. The procedure of angioplasty is minimally invasive and usually does not require general anesthesia.

Possible risk of angioplasty and vascular stenting:
■ Bleeding or clotting
■ Tearing of the artery lining
■ Arrhythmia
■ Allergic reaction to the x-ray dye
■ Kidney failure
Angioplasty And Vascular Stents

Artery blockage

All heart attacks, myocardial infarctions, are caused by the blockage of a segment of a coronary artery. As a result, the corresponding portion of heart muscle receives in adequate oxygen.

Progression of coronary artery narrowing may occur very slowly. Complete blockage of the coronary artery may take months or even years.

Blockages to the coronary arteries are a major cause of heart disease and heart attacks and their associated disability and mortality.

This slow progression allows the growth of new blood vessels from other coronary arteries into the branches of the blocked artery. These new blood vessels are called collaterals.

Blockage in the arteries is built up to the danger point while the victim is totally unaware.

Everyone has two major coronary arteries: the left main coronary artery and the right coronary artery. Both have major branches. The left circumflex coronary supplies oxygenated blood to the left ventricle and the right circumflex carries blood to the right ventricle.

The substances responsible for obstructing the arteries are cholesterol, fats, inorganic minerals and fibrous tissue. The inner passages of the arteries can become so narrow that not enough blood can flow through to properly nourish the powerful heart muscle.
Artery blockage

Arteriosclerosis and heart disease

What is arteriosclerosis? Arteriosclerosis is literally means hardening of the arteries, includes all kinds of diseases that damage the arteries and eventfully lead to coronary artery diseases. It involving arteries of various sizes and different layers of the arterial walls.

Arteriosclerosis is responsible for most of the deaths resulting from heart attacks.

The arterials diseases begins with damage to cells of the heart’s arteries and lead to the formation of a fibrous, fatty deposit called plaque.

The arterial plaque slowly increases in size until eventually the amount of blood flowing through the artery is greatly reduced or completely blocked.

If the coronary arteries that carry oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle become obstructed , the flow of blood is cut off completely and a heart attack, or myocardial infarction, can occur resulting damage to the heart muscle.

Arteriosclerosis is the most prevalent chronic among senior citizens and the number one killer in the United States. It mostly affects those between the ages of 40 to 70.
Arteriosclerosis and heart disease

Atherosclerosis

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is caused by atherosclerosis, a slow, progressive, hardening and narrowing of the artery by deposits of fat, cholesterol, and other substances followed by scarring and deposits of calcium or calcification.

It is common cause of cardiovascular disease in the United States. The substance block and narrow the coronary vessels in a way that reduces blood flow to the myocardium.

When serious, atherosclerosis may result in angina pectoris or myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Gross anatomy identifies arthrosclerosis as a focal thickening of the wall of medium-sized and large arteries. In its advanced stages, it consists of a central core of yellowish toothpaste-like gruel surrounded by a leathery capsule - the fibrous cap.

Atherosclerosis of the cerebral arteries leading to the brain can cause a stroke. Atherosclerosis, is one type of arteriosclerosis, which literally means ‘hardening the arteries’.

Arteriosclerosis is category of disease that involves hardening of the arteries. Arterio indicates arteries; sclerosis indicates a loss of elasticity or flexibility.

Atherosclerosis involves a repetition inflammatory response to injury of the artery wall and subsequent alteration in the structural and biochemical properties of the arterial walls. It is thought to began as fatty streaks of lipids that deposited in the intima of the arterial wall.

Many outcomes of atherosclerosis are quite bad. Atherosclerosis contributes to one half of deaths in North America and is number one killer worldwide.

It is commoner in older age groups, but in those with diabetes disorders of fat metabolism and high blood pressure, its appearance may be earlier.
Atherosclerosis