What is PTCA or Angioplasty?
Angioplasty is a technique used to dilate an area of arterial blockage with the help of a catheter that has an inflatable small sausage-shaped balloon at its tip. Since the balloon catheter is introduced through the skin of the groin, and sometimes the arm ( percutaneous = through the skin), is placed within a blood vessel (transluminal = in the channel or lumen of a blood vessel) and is applied in the treatment of coronary arteries, the technique is also called PTCA or Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty. Angioplasty physically opens the channel of diseased arterial segments (see below), relieves the recurrence of chest pain, increases the quality of life and reduces other complications of the disease. Since it is performed through a little needle hole in the groin (or sometimes the arm) it is much less invasive than surgery and can be repeated more often should the patient develop disease in the same, or another, artery in the future. How is PTCA performed? Prior to perfor
Related Questions
- What are the early outcomes of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with two- and three-vessel coronary artery disease?
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- What is PTCA or Angioplasty?
