Angioplasty [also called Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) or Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA)] This procedure is used in order to treat blockages within your arteries. During PTCA or Angioplasty, a very thin wire and a small balloon are passed across the blockage in your vessel. The balloon is inflated to compress the plaque (cholesterol), opening up the channel through the blockage. In most cases a small wire coil or stent is used to keep the vessel open. More>>
Rotational Atherectomy With some more complex blockages, special devices can be used to cut away plaque deposits caused by atherosclerosis inside the blood vessel. Rotational atherectomy is often used to treat blockages with calcium build-up.
Stents and Drug Eluting Stents Most patients who have an angioplasty also have a metal tube, or stent placed within the artery to hold it open. These stents remain permanently in the artery after the procedure. More>>
Embolic Protection During some stent procedures your doctor may use one of several special devices (generally referred to as "filters") to keep small fragments of the plaque from breaking off from your vessel during stent placement and causing injury to the heart. These are most often used if you have had previous bypass surgery and have developed a blockage in one of your bypasses.
Vascular Closure Devices Small sutures (stitches) or collagen plugs can be used at the end of a diagnostic or interventional procedure to help seal the hole through which the catheter was placed in the vessel wall (the access site); usually in the groin. Vascular closure devices help patients sit up and walk much more quickly, and avoid the need for heavy pressure to be applied to the access site. Therefore most patients find the use of closure devices much more comfortable than pressure. Not all patients can safely be treated with a vascular closure device. The physician who performs the procedure will help choose, with you, whether a vascular closure device can be used.
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