Coronaire angiography
- Article
- 2021-02-01
Coronary angiography is a procedure that uses contrast dye, which usually contains iodine, and X-rays to look for blockages in the coronary arteries caused by plaque build-up.
Blockages prevent your heart from getting oxygen and important nutrients. This procedure is used to diagnose ischemic heart disease after chest pain, sudden cardiac arrest, or abnormal results from tests such as an electrocardiogram (EKG) of the heart or an exercise test. It is important to detect blockages, as they can cause chest pain over time, especially with physical activity or stress, or a heart attack. If you're having a heart attack, coronary angiography can help your doctors plan your treatment.
Cardiologists, or doctors who specialize in the heart, will perform coronary angiography in a hospital or specialized laboratory. You will stay awake so you can follow your doctor's instructions, but you will be given medication to relax you during the procedure. You lie on your back on a movable table. Often coronary angiography is done with a cardiac catheterization procedure. For this, your doctor will clean and numb an area on the arm, groin, or thigh or neck before making a small hole in a blood vessel. Your doctor will insert a catheter tube into your blood vessel. Your doctor will take X-rays to help insert the catheter into your coronary artery. After the catheter is in place, your doctor will inject the contrast dye through the catheter to mark blockages and take X-rays of your heart. If blockages are detected,
After coronary angiography, your doctor will remove the catheter, optionally use a locking mechanism to seal the blood vessel, and close and bandage the opening in your arm, groin, or neck. You may get bruising and pain where the catheter was inserted. You will stay in the hospital for a few hours or overnight. During this time, your heart rate and blood pressure will be monitored. Your movement will be limited to prevent bleeding from the hole where the catheter was inserted. You will need to be taken home after the procedure because of the medicines or anesthetics you have received.
Coronary angiography is a very common procedure that rarely causes serious problems. Possible complications include bleeding, allergic reactions to the contrast dye, infection, blood vessel damage, arrhythmias, blood clots that can cause a heart attack or stroke, kidney damage, and fluid build-up around the heart. The risk of complications is higher in people who are older or have certain conditions, such as chronic kidney disease or diabetes. An imaging test called computed coronary tomography angiography, or coronary CTA, may be preferable to coronary angiography to detect blockages in the heart. Although coronary CTA still uses contrast dye, it does not require an invasive cardiac catheterization procedure that causes many of the complications of coronary angiography.
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