Key Points

• Coronary angioplasty is a medical procedure in which a balloon is used to open a blockage in a coronary (heart) artery narrowed by atherosclerosis. This procedure improves blood flow to the heart.
• Atherosclerosis is a condition in which a material called plaque builds up on the inner walls of the arteries. When atherosclerosis affects the coronary arteries, the condition is called coronary artery disease (CAD).
• Angioplasty can improve some of the symptoms of CAD, such as angina (chest pain) and shortness of breath. It also can reduce damage to the heart muscle from a heart attack and reduce the risk of death in some patients.
• You may need angioplasty if medicines and lifestyle changes haven't improved your symptoms of CAD. You also may need angioplasty as emergency treatment during a heart attack.
• Angioplasty is less invasive than surgery. General anesthesia isn't needed. You will be given medicines to help you relax, but you will be awake during the procedure.
• Angioplasty is performed in a special part of the hospital called the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
• Before angioplasty is done, your doctor will need to know whether your coronary arteries are blocked. To find out, he or she will do an angiogram and take an x-ray picture of your arteries to show any blockages and where they're located. Once your doctor has this information, the angioplasty can proceed.
• During angioplasty, your doctor will use a small tube called a catheter with a balloon at the end. He or she will thread the balloon through an artery to the blockage. The balloon is blown up (inflated), pushing the plaque outward against the artery wall. This opens the artery more and improves blood flow through it.
• During angioplasty, a stent (mesh tube) is often placed in the artery that has been opened. The stent reduces the chance that the artery will become blocked again in the future. The stent remains in place after the procedure.
• Most people go home 1 to 2 days after having angioplasty. Full recovery from the procedure is usually 1 week or less.
• Lifestyles changes are recommended after angioplasty to improve CAD and to prevent the arteries from becoming narrowed or blocked again. Lifestyle changes include a healthy diet, weight control, medicines to lower high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, regular physical activity, and quitting smoking.
• Angioplasty is a common medical procedure and is generally safe, but there is a small risk of serious complications.
• Renarrowing of the treated artery and growth of scar tissue within a stent can occur. The use of medicine-coated stents can lower the chance of this happening, but these stents aren't without risk. In some cases, blood clots can form in the medicine-coated stents.
• Research on angioplasty is ongoing to make it safer and more effective, to prevent treated arteries from closing again, and to make the procedure an option for more people.