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Balloon Angioplasty improves circulation and protects against dangerous arterial blockages that can cause heart attacks, strokes, and thrombosis (clot). A small balloon attached to a catheter is threaded through your femoral or radial artery to the site of blockage. The balloon is inflated, compressing the arterial plaque against the walls of the artery, creating an open space for blood to flow through. An arterial stent may be placed to keep the artery open.
After space is created (balloon angioplasty) for blood flow in the artery, the opening must be maintained. Lifestyle changes, medications, and other preventive procedures can help, but sometimes we need a more direct intervention. A stent is a small mesh tube that braces your blood vessel to help it stay open. After a stent is placed, patients will need to be on a medication regime to keep the artery and stent open.
The arteries around your heart are not the only ones that can develop plaque and become blocked. Blockage can also occur in veins and arteries elsewhere in the body. When this happens, your muscles and organs may experience limited blood flow and oxygen supply, hampering their function. Plaque buildup in peripheral arteries can also break off and travel to the heart, lungs and brain, causing serious damage such as a stroke.
We can treat peripheral vascular disease with lifestyle changes, medications, and cardiovascular interventions. Although the term “angioplasty” originally referred to the use of this procedure near the heart, we can also perform it on peripheral blood vessels, such as arteries in the leg. After clearing the artery, we can place a stent to keep the peripheral artery open.
We can perform some electrophysiology procedures with catheterized instruments. Electrophysiology refers to procedures that measure, change, or regulate the rhythm of your heart. Arrhythmia ablation, for example, ablates the area of the heart that is causing the irregular heartbeats. We use electrode catheters to detect the source of irregular beats, then freeze (cryoablation) or burn (radiofrequency ablation) that area so the irregular conduction and not pass through.
We handle many other cardiology services. To learn whether we offer a service recommended by your doctor, please call 708-331-2200 and ask.