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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staff
Angioplasty is used to treat a type of heart disease known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the slow buildup of fatty plaques in your heart's blood vessels. When medications or lifestyle changes aren't enough to improve your heart health, or if you have a heart attack, worsening chest pain (angina) or other symptoms, your doctor might suggest angioplasty as a treatment option.
Angioplasty isn't for everyone, though. If the main artery supplying the left side of your heart is narrowed, if your heart muscle is weak or if you have small diseased blood vessels , then coronary artery bypass surgery may be a better option. In coronary artery bypass surgery, the blocked portion of your artery is bypassed using a vein from another part of your body.
In addition, if you have diabetes and multiple blockages, your doctor may suggest coronary artery bypass surgery. The decision of angioplasty versus bypass surgery will depend on the extent of your heart disease and overall medical condition.
- Angioplasty. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Angioplasty/Angioplasty_All.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Cardiac procedures and surgeries. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/PreventionTreatmentofHeartAttack/Cardiac-Procedures-and-Surgeries_UCM_303939_Article.jsp. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Cutlip D, et al. General principles of the use of intracoronary stents. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Carrozza JP, et al. Periprocedural complications of percutaneous coronary intervention. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- King SB, et al. 2007 update of the ACC/AHA/ SCAI 2005 guideline update for percutaneous coronary intervention. Circulation. 2008;117:261.
- Levin T, et al. Intracoronary stent restenosis. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Cutlip D, et al. Bypass surgery versus percutaneous intervention in the management of stable angina pectoris: Recommendations. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
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