Coronary Angiography

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Coronary angiography of vessels: purpose and indications for

Coronary angiography is an X-ray examination of the blood vessels of the heart, which is performed in order to identify the location and extent of the lesion.

When carrying out diagnostics, a special contrast is injected into the vessels to obtain a clear X-ray.

Prescribe coronary angiography of the heart for diagnosis in case of suspected coronary heart disease, chest pain, heart attack, heart failure, angina pectoris, ischemic pulmonary edema, ventricular arrhythmias, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, before surgery for heart defects.

Before doing coronary angiography, the patient is required to donate blood for a general analysis, to establish its group, to exclude HIV, hepatitis B, C viruses, to undergo an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram. In addition, the cardiologist collects anamnesis, identifies concomitant diseases and their symptoms. If necessary, the patient is recommended to undergo additional studies before the study, a course of tranquilizers, anti-allergy drugs, analgesics is prescribed.

Immediately before coronary angiography of the heart, local anesthesia is performed, after which a catheter is inserted through the artery on the thigh into the coronary artery and a contrast is passed through it, which spreads through the vessels and they become visible on an angiograph - special equipment that allows large-format high-speed imaging and subsequent computer processing of the obtained results. Having determined the size of the vascular lesion, the patient is diagnosed and treated.

When conducting coronary angiography of blood vessels, the patient's condition is monitored by an anesthesiologist, a cardioreanimatologist, who, if necessary, can provide emergency assistance to the patient. The risk of complications during coronary angiography of the heart is minimal, but still there are cases when during the procedure bleeding in the puncture area was opened, the heart rhythm was disturbed, thrombosis of the coronary artery, heart attack, allergy to contrast (itching, swelling, rash, breathing problems, lowering pressure, anaphylactic shock).

In some cases, the doctor, after agreeing with the patient, decides to do coronary angiography simultaneously with the treatment procedures: stenting and balloon dilation.

The patient is recovering after coronary angiography of the heart only one or two days, because the procedure is less traumatic.

Contraindications to coronary angiography

It is impossible to do coronary angiography without the patient's consent; the procedure is considered a small operation. There are no serious contraindications for coronary angiography, but it is not recommended for patients with high fever, anemia, prolonged bleeding, incl. history, with violations of the process of blood clotting, with a low level of potassium.

Coronary angiography of blood vessels is prescribed with caution in elderly patients, with significant fluctuations in weight, untreated renal failure, diabetes mellitus, and serious lung diseases.

A contraindication to coronary angiography is the presence of an allergy to a contrast agent, therefore, it is advisable to undergo an allergic test for the dye used before the operation.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that a side effect of using contrast in coronary angiography can be not only allergies, but also impaired renal function, which must be taken into account when examining patients with heart failure, chronic renal failure, and severe diabetes mellitus. It is recommended for this group of patients to prepare for the procedure in a hospital setting.

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