It is being told that on August 10, Raju was exercising as usual. He suffered a cardiac arrest while running on a treadmill. Soon after, he was admitted to AIIMS Hospital in New Delhi and underwent angioplasty on the same day.
Dr Nityanand Tripathi, Director and HOD of Cardiology and Electrophysiology at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh Telling you about angioplasty surgery.
What is Angioplasty?
It is also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. This surgery is used to block or widen narrow arteries and veins caused by arterial atherosclerosis.
What is the purpose of angioplasty?
Heart attacks occur due to blockages in the coronary arteries (blood vessels of the heart). Coronary arteries are blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. When there is a blockage in this coronary artery, the blood supply to the heart gets obstructed and it causes a heart attack, but if it is not blocked, it can cause angina.
What happens in Angioplasty?
In such a situation, the heart becomes weak in the future and if the blood supply to the heart continues to be slow, then there is no medicine to improve the blood flow or remove the blockage. In such a situation, the blockage keeps on increasing, if more than 70% of the arteries are blocked, due to which the blood supply starts decreasing in that affected area, then we dilate the artery with the help of a balloon and put a stent in it. If we inflate the artery with a balloon and leave it like this, then the walls of the artery can collapse / hang and due to sudden blockage, a heart attack can also occur. Therefore, angioplasty is mandatory for patients who have more than 70% blockage in their heart arteries.
Is angioplasty a major surgery?
Angioplasty is not a surgery. We perform angiography by inserting a catheter into the heart and then inserting dye and taking a picture with the help of state-of-the-art machines. When we do angioplasty, it is not a surgery, we put a stent on the patient with the help of a catheter, which is a type of tube, without the need for stitches. After this procedure is done, we remove the catheter and the tube through which we inserted the catheter is also removed, and the patient is relieved, and the patient is able to move from the very next day goes, and he/she can go to his/her home.
How long is an angioplasty procedure?
The timing of angioplasty depends, among many other things, on the complexity of the disease, how complex the disease is and whether there is calcium in the artery. Also, it is also important whether this requires special equipment such as OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography). If this is necessary, the angioplasty procedure may take longer than 30 minutes.
Surgery can go on for several hours
When the angioplasty procedure is complex and requires more manual, specialized equipment, it can take one and a half to two hours to perform the procedure. It takes less time if a stent is to be inserted in only one blood vessel, but may take longer than expected if angioplasty has to be done in all three blood vessels. It takes about 30 minutes for a single blood vessel and when the procedure has to be done in multiple blood vessels, for example in two or three blood vessels, it can take up to 1.5 to 2 hours. If this is a specific process and it is necessary to do this in more than one blood vessel, then it can take up to 2.5 to 3 hours in this situation. During this whole procedure the patient remains awake and he/she keeps talking, i.e. the procedure of angioplasty is not painful.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only. It cannot in any way be a substitute for any medicine or treatment. Always contact your doctor for more details.