Treatments for Restoring Blood Flow
Your treatment method will depend on the makeup of your blockage, the size of your blood vessels, the location of the blockage and your health history.
Angioplasty
Also called a PCI when performed in the heart, this procedure uses X-ray imaging and a small balloon attached to a thin tube to widen your artery and improve blood flow.
Minimally Invasive Access
Angiography can usually be done using an artery in your wrist instead of your femoral artery, which is associated with less bleeding, fewer complications and a quicker recovery.
What to Expect
Your doctor will identify the blockage then widen the blocked artery using a small balloon attached to a thin tube, improving your blood flow.
Recovery
Most patients will go home the day of the procedure for treatments performed outside the heart. Treatments performed in the heart are minimally invasive, but require patients to stay in the hospital for a day or two before returning home.
Stent Placement
The decision about whether to use a stent will be made during your angioplasty, depending on the condition of the blocked artery.
What to Expect
Your doctor will insert a small wire mesh known as a stent to help stabilize your artery walls.
Recovery
Most patients will go home the day of the procedure for treatments performed outside the heart. Treatments performed in the heart are minimally invasive but require patients to stay in the hospital for a day or two before returning home.
High-Risk Patients
Patients with significant disease who are unsuitable for surgery can instead be treated using a stenting technique called complex high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Rotational Atherectomy
What to Expect
Your doctor will use a small tube with a controlled, spinning tip to break up hard plaque and remove your blockage.
Recovery
Most patients will go home the day of the procedure for treatments performed outside the heart. Treatments performed in the heart are minimally invasive, but require patients to stay in the hospital for a day or two before returning home.
Thombolysis
What to Expect
Your doctor will give you medicine in your artery to break up clots and restore blood flow.
Recovery
You will need to stay in the hospital under your blood flow is restored, which can take several days.
