You might think of your heart as the one organ in your body that’s never short on blood supply. But the reality is, your heart itself depends on its own set of blood vessels to keep doing its job. Those blood vessels are called coronary arteries. And sometimes, they can become narrowed or blocked by fatty deposits called plaque, which keeps your heart from getting as much blood as it needs. Angioplasty and stenting can reopen your coronary arteries to restore the blood supply to your heart.
If your cardiologist determines that your coronary arteries are becoming blocked, angioplasty and stenting may be performed. This procedure may also be used as an emergency treatment when someone is having a heart attack. Here’s what to expect if you have angioplasty:
In most cases, balloon angioplasty is combined with the placement of a stent—a tiny, expandable tube used to hold a blood vessel open and prevent the blood vessel from narrowing again. Here’s how it works:
Angioplasty and stenting are also used to open blood vessels in other parts of the body, including the arteries in the neck, legs and kidneys.
Your doctor will talk with you about the risks of these procedures but, some risks include:
At UR Medicine, our heart doctors are all fellowship-trained—the highest level of training available. Many of our surgeons perform a high volume of procedures, which is generally considered one of the best predictors of an excellent outcome.
The Cardiac Catheterization Lab at UR Medicine is the most advanced lab of its kind in the Rochester area. We perform many procedures unavailable at other hospitals. In fact, we were the first in the region to perform procedures such as angioplasty and placing coronary stents.
For details on angioplasty and stenting procedures at UR Medicine Cardiac Care, contact us at (585) 275-4775.