Angioplasty

Your physician has referred you to the Diagnostic Services Department at United Hospital Center for an Angioplasty.

The purpose of an angioplasty is to open narrowing in the blood vessels.

If you are currently not a patient in the hospital, you will be asked to report to the hospital registration department two (2) hours prior to your scheduled exam. After registration, you will be escorted to a hospital room where you will be prepared for the exam. An intravenous (IV) line may be inserted into a vein in your arm.

After arriving in the Diagnostic Services Department you will be asked to sign a consent form. You will then be placed on a radiographic table on your back. The radiologist will then numb the skin around the vessel area (usually the groin or armpit area) using a local anesthetic so, at this time, you will feel a little needle stick. After the area is numbed, another needle is placed in the vessel through which the radiologist will insert a balloon catheter. You will not feel this catheter moving in your vessels because your vessels have no nerves. Once the catheter is in place, you will feel a warm sensation when the radiologist injects the contrast medium (x-ray dye), but that sensation will quickly subside.

The balloon catheter will then be advanced to the narrowing (stenosis), where the balloon is inflated for 15-30 seconds and then deflated. This process of inflating and deflating may be done several times until the area of narrowing is opened. After the area of narrowing is opened, you will feel the warm sensation again from the contrast medium.

After the catheter is removed, you will have a small hole in your artery. Pressure will be applied to that area so there is no bleeding. This is a little uncomfortable, but lasts only 10-15 minutes. After the bleeding has stopped, the technologist will put a bandage on the site; no sutures are required.

>Upon completion of the exam, you will be returned to your hospital room and there will be some restrictions. You MAY NOT bend the leg or arm used during the exam. You MUST use a bedpan or urinal. You MAY eat and you will be encouraged to drink liquids. These restrictions are applied for six to eight hours after the exam.

While Angioplasty involves relatively minor surgery, it is not completely free from complications. Among the complications which may be encountered are: a bruise may form around the puncture site, damage may occur to blood vessels which require surgery, and/or reaction to the contrast medium. Rare complications arising from an Angioplasty have included strokes, kidney failure and heart attack. Rarer still, there have been reports of loss of life.

Your physician has determined the benefits from the procedure outweigh the risks and would aid in the diagnosis of your medical condition.

After midnight the night before your scheduled exam, DO NOT eat solid food. However, you may have clear liquids and take your medications until 6:00 a.m. the morning of the exam. DO NOT eat or drink anything after 6:00 a.m. the morning of the exam, except for medications which you may take with small sips of water, unless otherwise directed your physician.

LENGTH: Procedure time approximately 3 hours (total hospital time 24 hours)

If you are pregnant, or think you might be, tell your doctor and the technologist
BEFORE the exam.