You may be a suitable candidate for angioplasty surgery and stenting, or not. If you have blockages in your arteries, your doctor will analyze the extent of your cardiovascular disease, your risk factors, and your ability to take medicine and handle the side effects to decide if you are ideally suited to a variety of treatments.

If you’re in the early stages of cardiovascular disease, improving lifestyle patterns, including diet and exercise, might be enough to keep you on track for good health. For other patients, the safest path to slowing or reversing the development of cardiovascular disease may be treated in addition to lifestyle improvements.

However, if you are rushed to the emergency room because of a heart attack, medical results and recommendations specifically prescribe angioplasty treatment and stenting care. In reality, if you have a heart attack, your heart muscle and life can be saved by angioplasty and stenting.

Are there any choices for the treatment?

Initially, your doctor can prescribe improvements to the medication and lifestyle to delay atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is an accumulation of hardened fatty deposits (plaque) on the artery walls. Drugs that delay or reverse atherosclerosis include drugs that boost cholesterol levels, decrease blood pressure or avoid blood clots. Changes in lifestyle include eating a healthy diet, exercising and not smoking.

Ask your doctor about all your medical options before settling on angioplasty treatment and consider getting a second opinion.

When to consider Angioplasty surgery?

Your cardiologist may prescribe angioplasty surgery if:

• You suffer from chest pain or shortness of breath due to CAD
• You have only 1 or 2 coronary arteries that are narrowed or blocked. Instead of angioplasty, your doctor can prescribe heart bypass surgery (the coronary artery bypass graft operation). 
• You’ve had a heart attack.
• You are not feeling better despite medicines and lifestyle changes to reverse atherosclerosis. You have a coronary bypass graft that has closed or narrowed.
• You have a narrowed or closed coronary bypass graft.

Who should not undergo Angioplasty surgery?

You shouldn’t undergo angioplasty if:

• You have narrow arteries that are mild to moderate and showing no signs or symptoms.
• Your condition shows improvements through medicine and lifestyle changes.

People with kidney failure and disease may not be good candidates for angioplasty. Cardiologists inject a contrast dye into the bloodstream during an angioplasty surgery to see (via an x-ray device) where the blockages are and to direct the procedure. Since the kidneys have to wash the color out of the body, people with kidney problems are at higher risk of angioplasty-related complications.

What to Expect during an Angioplasty surgery?

Usually, angioplasty surgery is performed in a hospital.  You’ll be taking medication to help you relax during the operation. You’ll also take medication before and after the operation to keep blood clots from developing in your arteries.

Angioplasty is a procedure to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. You will most likely remain overnight in the hospital to ensure that the blood pressure is normal and that the incision of the catheter in your arm or groin heals normally. You’re unlikely to experience discomfort but, it’s normal at the site of the incision to have slight tenderness and bruise.

You may need a ride home from the hospital, and after angioplasty, you will need to take it easy for a few days. Follow instructions from your doctor regarding eating, drinking, and resting As well as what medicines to take during recovery.