Coronary angiography is a method used to detect coronary artery disease. The cause of coronary artery stenosis can determine which area of the coronary arteries has narrowed and / or obstructed. It detects the stenosis or obstruction of the vein and allows the treatment to be directed as required. Cardiac catheterization for defects in the functioning of the heart valves and walls can also be indicated for access to the heart chambers during the procedure. It can also be used for the diagnosis of congenital heart diseases such as heart punctures.
Is there any feeling of pain or distress during the angiography procedure?
A sedating medication is usually given before entering the catheter lab, which allows the patients to relax. Most people do not feel pain during the procedure. Some patients say that their lives are slightly painful. As with the same tooth extraction, the area to be treated will be anesthetized with a local anesthetic. In the meantime, a pinning is felt. Your artery is then placed through a catheter or a thin tube called a “sheath”. Your heart vessels are actually called radio-opaque material, which is actually displayed in medical research, with items containing radiation of the appropriate dose and noticeable under X-ray light. Injection of the painted material during the procedure will not give a feeling of pain. When this ingredient is given, you may feel hot pressing and flushing. This feeling can take about 20-30 seconds.
Some people develop allergic itching and redness due to the painted material and can be treated with medications given during this procedure. If you have had previous allergy or asthma symptoms or if an allergic reaction has already developed, for example, when a film of your kidney’s film or other veins is being filmed, you should tell your doctor before the procedure. You may have a short chest pain during the procedure. If so, you should tell your doctor.
HOW İS ANGIOGRAPHY DONE?
Through the catheter placed in your inguinal artery, the veins are displayed in a thinner, hollow plastic structure using wires to the mouth of your heart vessels and painted. Generally, the left coronary artery follows the right coronary vasculature. Where necessary, vessels, such as bypassed patients, caudal or thoracic, may be washed with opaque material and taken separately.
Is it necessary to stay in the hospital for coronary angiography?
Yeah. Coronary angiography requires hospitalization procedures. As a result, the procedure is done from your artery and is concerned with your heart vessels. For this reason, many centers find it convenient for you to be hospitalized one night after the procedure, just like the current practice in our hospital.
Do I need to have a test before the procedure?
Your doctor will do the necessary tests before admission. One of the most important considerations is that you bring all of the earlier tests with you on the day you arrived for the transaction. (If you have blood tests, chest x-rays, electrocardiograms, previous angiography or surgery reports, patient discharge papers called epicrisy, etc.) Actually, the procedures of heart patients themselves are useful as a personal file.
IS THERE ANY FEELİNG OF PAİN OR DİSTRESS DURİNG THE ANGİOGRAPHY PROCEDURE?
Can an angiographer eat before?
Your doctor will usually tell you about your food through a dietician. If there are medicines that are used continuously, they should be asked to the doctor who will take the angiography in the morning. Usually you have to come without breakfast in the morning when the process is going to be done. If there is a different situation, you will be notified by the people on duty. If you are diabetic, you are taking medicines or insulin in the morning, you should go hungry without taking your medicine and report it to the nurse.
How should angiography be prepared?
Depending on which area is used for angiography, you should not have to shave your arms or legs, crotch and clean that area. This area will be covered with a sterile (germ-free) cover during operation. The lab personnel will also be wearing completely micro fabricated clothes and gloves.
Is it awake during the process?
During the test, you will be awake to answer any questions your doctor asks. A sedative drug will be given 1 hour before the procedure to give you a break. But this will not make you sleep. When films are taken, you will be asked to take a deep breath and hold your breath. When you breathe deeply, this will increase the quality of your captured film and prevent unnecessary loss of time. After that you may be asked to breathe or cough.
How long does the angiography process last?
The time required for each catheter changes. Personal factors related to the patient depend on what the doctor is looking for and other factors. It can usually be completed in about 10 minutes during non-special occasions. However, the total time you spend in the catheter lab depends on how long you wait for patients to be treated before you undergo angiography, and on how long your pubic vein stops bleeding.
Could it be pain after angiography?
After the procedure, the catheter in the pubic area is usually removed immediately. In special cases, withdrawal of the catheter in the groin may be delayed. After the catheter is withdrawn, it is necessary to press it tightly in the groin area in order to prevent bleeding from the arterial artery. You may feel some pain during this time. After the active bleeding has stopped, sandbags will be placed to prevent bleeding from the crotch region and you will be asked to stay for a while without changing your back position. You may feel tenderness and discomfort in the area where the catheter is applied. If this makes you very uncomfortable, tell your doctor or nurse. He will give you a painkiller to relieve you. You may feel bruise and slight swelling in the application area. Do not hesitate to inform your nurse if this color change is widespread or if you feel any other discomfort.
Coronary angiography results and additional procedures?
The results of coronary angiography are immediately assessed as immediate digital recordings in our hospital’s cardiology clinic. Therefore, you can get general information on whether you are ill while leaving the operation. However, the definitive results are usually clear after one day at the joint council meeting of Cardiology-Cardiovascular Surgery in the morning. As a result of the examinations, if there are signs indicating coronary artery occlusion, coronary angiography shows the cardiac vessels, and during the same procedure or during a second session, it is possible to open the vessels by balloon (PTCA) or wire mesh (stent) method. In the balloon method, a very thin guide wire then a thin balloon over this wire is deflected and the balloon is inflated over the entire narrow to expand the area. If the wire cage is to be worn, the special balloons with the wire cage are pushed forward in the narrow zone and the vessel is expanded. If the vessels cannot be opened with these methods, i.e. without surgery, additional vessels can be connected before coronary by-pass surgery.
