Angiogram

Coronary angiography is a test that uses dye and special x rays to show the inside of your coronary arteries. The coronary arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart.

A material called plaque can build up on the inside walls of the coronary arteries, causing them to narrow. When this happens, it's called coronary artery disease (CAD).

CAD can prevent enough blood from flowing to your heart and can lead to angina and heart attack. ( chest pain) Coronary angiography shows whether you have CAD.

Most of the time, the coronary arteries can't be seen on an x ray. During coronary angiography, special dye is injected into the bloodstream to make the coronary arteries show up on an x ray.

A procedure called cardiac catheterization is used to get the dye to your coronary arteries. A long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is put into a blood vessel in your arm, groin, or neck.

The tube is then threaded into your coronary arteries, and the dye is injected into your bloodstream. Special x rays are taken while the dye is flowing through the coronary arteries.

Cardiologists do cardiac catheterizations in the hospital's cardiac catheterization lab.. You're awake during the procedure. It usually causes little to no pain, although you may feel some soreness in the blood vessel where your doctor put the catheter.