OVERVIEW
An angiogram is a diagnostic procedure that uses imaging to show your provider how your blood flows through your blood vessels or heart. An injected contrast material makes it easy to see where blood is moving and where blockages are. Your provider can use X-rays or other types of imaging for your angiogram.
What is an Angiogram?
An angiogram is a diagnostic procedure that uses X-ray images to look for blockages or narrow spots in your blood vessels (arteries or veins). An angiogram test can show how blood circulates in blood vessels at specific locations in your body. Healthcare providers use an angiogram of your heart, neck, kidneys, legs or other areas to locate the source of an artery or vein issue.
Your healthcare provider may want to do an angiogram procedure when you have signs of blocked, damaged or abnormal blood vessels. An angiogram test helps your provider determine the source of the problem and the extent of damage to your blood vessels.
With an angiogram procedure, your provider can diagnose and plan treatment for conditions like:
- Coronary artery disease (blockage or narrowing in the arteries that supply your heart)
- Peripheral artery disease (blockage or narrowing in your leg arteries)
- Blood clots (mass of blood cells)
- Aneurysm (weak artery wall)
Procedure Steps
- Preparation:
- Patients may be instructed to avoid food and drink for several hours before the procedure.
- A local anesthetic is administered at the catheter insertion site, usually in the groin or wrist.
- Catheter Insertion: A thin, flexible tube (catheter) is inserted into the blood vessel and guided to the area of interest using X-ray imaging.
- Contrast Dye Injection: A contrast dye is injected through the catheter, which enhances the visibility of the blood vessels on X-ray images.
- Imaging: X-ray images (angiograms) are taken as the dye flows through the blood vessels, capturing detailed images.
- Post-Procedure Care: Patients are monitored for a few hours to ensure there are no complications, and they may be advised to rest and hydrate.
Types of Angiography
Benefits of Angiography
- Accurate Diagnosis: Provides clear images to help diagnose vascular conditions.
- Guides Treatment: Helps doctors plan interventions, such as angioplasty or stent placement.
- Minimally Invasive: Typically performed as an outpatient procedure with minimal recovery time.
- Immediate Results: Allows for rapid assessment and decision-making in emergency situations.
What are the Risks of Angiography?
Angiogram risks are low. But you can have complications in the area where your provider went through your skin to reach your artery. Angiogram complications happen in less than 1% of cases.
Risks of an angiogram procedure usually involve your puncture site and include:
- Bruises, which are common and go away in one to three weeks
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Pain
- Kidney issues
- An allergic reaction to the contrast material (dye)
- Injury to blood vessels
- Abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) or cardiac arrest that requires resuscitation
- A blood vessel blockage from a blood clot that could cause a heart attack or stroke (rarely)
- A blood vessel leak (rarely)