Why is CT angiography an excellent alternative to catheter angiography?
While conventional catheter angiography is still considered the gold standard for diagnosing arterial disease, it does require an arterial puncture, typically in the groin. There is a small risk associated with the arterial puncture and with manipulating a catheter (a flexible tube) inside your arteries. In addition, there is a recovery time of up to six hours. Compared to catheter angiography, CTA is a less invasive and more patient-friendly procedure. For CTA, contrast is injected into a vein, a technically less difficult procedure with a very low risk of complications. As a result, patients typically leave immediately following the procedure and can resume normal activities.
