ABC of Vascular Disease

Angioplasty

1. What is an angioplasty?
An angioplasty is a procedure which increases the size of an artery, usually to allow more blood to pass through it.  The commonest method is called balloon angioplasty where a small plastic balloon is placed inside the narrow section of the artery and gently inflated to stretch the artery to the correct shape.  This is done in a very similar way to an angiogram and often the two procedures are combined (angiogram).

Angioplasty is a low risk procedure but complications do sometimes occur.  These issues will be discussed with you before you sign a consent form for the procedure.

© S.R.Dodds 2001