The angioplasty is that technique that is used in medical hospitals, facilities and surgeries wherein the patient's blood vessels which have been obstructed or narrowed down due to atherosclerosis now need to be widened mechanically. Atherosclerosis refers to the condition where over a period of time plaque which is fatty substance begins to build up in a person's arteries. This causes the arteries to harden and also narrow down to a large extent. If the condition is allowed to grow and the build up keeps taking place, it could result in a very serious medical condition.. This is referred to as CHD or coronary heart disease.
In this procedure of angioplasty a little balloon that is inflatable is utilized along with a guide wire. The balloon device is medically referred to by the term balloon catheter. This catheter is useful in crushing all the deposits of fat and thus aids in widening the blood vessel. This helps in improving the flow of blood to a patient's heart. This catheter is normally inserted into a person's system through a hole that has been created in the skin on their groin or even through the patient's arm. Normally this particular procedure can take anywhere from 40 minutes to even up to 3 hours to complete. The timing of the treatment depends on various factors like the number of catheters that need to be inserted into a patient's body and also how difficult that particular case is. At times the age of the patient also plays a crucial role as does the patient's overall health.
Thus angioplasty is medically found to be the less invasive treatment when compared to a bypass surgery. The patients who have an angioplasty are also known to recover much faster that the patients who have had to do a heart bypass. However, the angioplasty is not always recommended for all the patients. This is even so for patients who may have done an angioplasty in the past. Candidates for the angioplasty procedure are normally chosen based on the basis of the patient's age or the physical history or the severity of the patient's blockage or damage. The cardiologist will review all these before he recommends the procedure for the patient. Hence if a patient does not meet any of the guidelines stipulated then the cardiologist will not recommend an angioplasty in case of greater complications developing which may even be fatal.
Submitted by M T on April 1, 2010 at 03:29