How Is Coronary Angioplasty Performed?

Before coronary angioplasty is done, your cardiologist will need to know whether your coronary arteries are blocked. If one or more of your arteries are blocked, your doctor will need to know where and how severe the blockages are.

To find out, your doctor will do an angiogram and take an x-ray picture of your arteries. During an angiogram, a small tube called a catheter with a balloon at the end is put into a large blood vessel in the groin or arm. The catheter is then threaded to the coronary arteries. A small amount of dye is injected into the coronary arteries and an x-ray picture is taken.

This picture will show any blockages, how many, and where they're located. Once your cardiologist has this information, the angioplasty can proceed. Your cardiologist will inflate the balloon in the blockage and push the plaque outward against the artery wall. This opens the artery more and improves blood flow.

The illustration shows a cross-section of a coronary artery with plaque buildup. The coronary artery is located on the surface of the heart. Figure A shows the deflated balloon catheter inserted into the narrowed coronary artery. In figure B, the balloon is inflated, compressing the plaque and restoring the size of the artery. Figure C shows the widened artery.