CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY
An angiography or angiogram is a special type of X-ray that allows your coronary arteries to be viewed and recorded on film. This X-ray allows your doctor to see if the blood vessels to your heart are clogged. CAG
is usually performed from the hand (Radial Angioplasty) but sometime its done from groin too (Femoral Angioplasty).
Blood vessels do not show clearly on a normal X-ray, so a special dye needs to be injected
into your blood first. This highlights your blood vessels, allowing your doctor to see any problems. The X-ray images created during angiography are called angiograms.
procedure of angiography
In a coronary angiogram, a catheter is inserted into an artery in the groin, arm or neck and threaded through the blood vessels to the heart. A coronary angiogram can show blocked or narrowed blood vessels in the heart. A coronary angiogram is a procedure that uses X-ray imaging to see your heart's blood vessels.
Types of angiography
There are several different types of angiography, depending on which part of the body is being looked at.
Common types include:
- coronary angiography – to check the heart and nearby blood vessels
- cerebral angiography – to check the blood vessels in and around the brain
- pulmonary angiography – to check the blood vessels supplying the lungs
- renal angiography – to check the blood vessels supplying the kidneys