Page 23 - Seniorstoday March 2022 Issue

procedure, so don’t add to your stress and ANGIOPLASTY
zone out is my fervent request, especially
for the faint hearted. This is the best advice I
could give you.
Let the doctors take charge
Once the prep is complete, each member of
the team calls out ‘Ready’ to make sure all
are on the same page.
You will be sedated, the anesthetist at
this point will numb the area and begin the
inserting of a thin tube catheter and straw,
you will feel some mild discomfort as a
balloon is inflated to stretch the artery and
a little bit of medication injected, to keep the
artery from clamping down when injecting
the contrast.
The TV monitor directs the surgeon to get
the catheter to reach right into the heart,
then the fluid (contrast dye) is inserted to
show up clearly on the X-ray
monitor where and how the blood is
flowing in the arteries, and all parameters
are viewed and photos of the arteries of the
heart at different angles are taken.
Your doctor will then command you to
take a deep breath, hold it, till he asks you to
release, and breathe normally.
This happens twice.
Angiogram done!
Once the angiogram is done, the pictures
are closely viewed and the decision of minor
blockages, major blockages, angioplasty to
insert stents or a bypass are made on the
spot, reported to next of kin for approval and
onward to the next step.
Why it is a better option to go through the
arm versus the groin for the procedure?
There are two methods of conducting an
angioplasty through the artery in the wrist
or through the groin. If you are given the
choice, always opt for the arm, the healing,
recovery, pain and mobility is easier to deal
with post procedure in every which way.
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #33 | MARCH 2022
The steps that involve an angioplasty are —
Placement of the catheter
Inflation of balloon to open blocked artery
Inserting stent
Removal of catheter
If it is immediately followed by an
angiogram, the first two steps are already in
place, which makes the procedure half the
duration.
The procedure is usually done under
sedation and local anesthesia.
It can take between thirty minutes to two
hours.
The catheter is inserted in the artery and a
tiny wire is threaded to the blocked artery
with the help of X-ray imaging. This serves
as a guide for the balloon catheter.
The balloon catheter presses the plaque
against the artery wall and opens the
blockage for inserting the stent. (A tiny tube
made of fine wire mesh, which keeps the
artery open)
The stent once fixed to the artery wall
usually does not ever move.
Once the green signal is on —‘ready’ all
concentration is on the surgeon. A puncture
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