Angioplastiat

Angioplastiat are medical procedures aimed at restoring blood flow in narrowed or blocked arteries by widening the vessel lumen. The most common form is balloon angioplasty, where a catheter with a small balloon is guided to the site of narrowing and inflated to compress plaque against the artery wall. Often a stent is placed to keep the artery open. Drug-eluting stents release medication to reduce restenosis. Other devices include atherectomy systems that remove plaque and specialized balloons or lithotripsy for heavily calcified vessels.

Indications include coronary artery disease with limiting chest pain or after a heart attack, peripheral arterial disease causing leg symptoms, carotid artery stenosis to reduce stroke risk, and renal artery stenosis in certain cases. Procedures are typically performed through the femoral or radial artery and guided by imaging techniques such as angiography.

During the procedure, anticoagulation is used, and after stent placement antiplatelet therapy is usually required for a period. Most angioplastiat are done under local anesthesia and can be outpatient or short inpatient procedures, depending on complexity and patient factors.

Risks include restenosis or re-narrowing, vessel injury or rupture, blood clots, embolization, contrast-related kidney effects, infection, and bleeding at the access site. Outcomes have improved with advances in devices and techniques, particularly with drug-eluting stents, yielding high immediate success rates and longer-term patency in many patients.

History notes that balloon angioplasty was developed in the late 1970s by Andreas Gruentzig and has since evolved to include coronary, peripheral, and carotid applications, often with stent support.