Balloon Angioplasty
When your heart’s arteries become blocked or narrowed due to coronary artery disease, angioplasty can help widen vessels obstructed by cholesterol or plaque. During this minor procedure, we insert a thin tube (catheter) into a blood vessel in your arm, groin, or neck and extend it to your heart (as in a routine cardiac catheterization). Then, we inflate a very small balloon in the artery in order to open it and restore blood flow.
Coronary Artery Stent Placement
During this procedure, we place a small, metal mesh tube (a stent) inside your coronary artery. Because a stent prevents the artery from closing again, the procedure is often done immediately following an angioplasty.
Laser Angioplasty
This is a similar procedure to a balloon angioplasty for coronary artery disease, but instead of using a balloon to open the artery, we use a laser to break down any blockage we find.