What are angioplasty and cardiac catheterization?
Angioplasty is the mechanical widening of a narrowed or completely obstructed blood vessel, most commonly caused by plaque buildup. Cardiac catheterization involves inserting a thin plastic tube called a catheter, into an artery or vein. It can be advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries. The catheters used in coronal angioplasty have a balloon on the tip. Stents are wire mesh tubes used to prop open an artery during an angioplasty. The stent is collapsed to a small diameter and put over a balloon catheter, and moved in place. The stent expands to a larger diameter when inflated, where it stays permanently in the heart to help restore normal blood flow. In a few weeks, the inside lining of the artery grows over the stent.
