Introduction

Angiography is derived from the Greek term 'angeion' meaning vessel and 'graphien' which means to write of record. Angiography or arteriography is a technique of medical imaging where an X-Ray is taken of the heart to visualize the inner opening of the arteries, veins and the four heart chambers, right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium and left ventricle. Angiography or angiogram requires the insertion of a catheter, a thin tube into a peripheral artery.

Coronary Angiography or Coronary Catheterization is a minimally invasive procedure to access the coronary flow and blood chambers of the heart using a catheter. Coronary Catheterization was first introduced in 1950s.

Procedure

During Coronary Catheterization a patient's blood pressure and X-Ray shadowgrams of the blood in the coronary arteries are recorded. To record the X-Ray images, a cardiologist guides a catheter through the large blood arteries till the tip of the catheter reaches the opening of the coronary arteries. Catheters are made with a high radiodensity making it opaque to X-Rays allowing a clearer, blood compatible X-Ray dye to be selectively injected and mixed with the blood flowing in the artery. Without the X-Ray dye, the blood and internal structure of the heart is not clearly visible. The cardiologist activates the equipment to apply cine, a higher X-Ray dose when he/she is ready to record the diagnostic views. The diagnostic views can be saved and studied later.

Length

Simple Coronary Angiography usually takes about half an hour to complete.

Risks

The general risks of Coronary Angiography are