The first catheter is exchanged out over the guidewire for a guiding catheter and the guidewire is removed. A smaller guidewire is advanced across the blocked section of the coronary artery and a balloon -tipped tube is positioned so the balloon part of the tube is beside the blockage. The balloon is then inflated for a few seconds to compress the blockage against the artery wall. Then the balloon is deflated.
The doctor may repeat this a few times, each time pumping up the balloon a little more to widen the passage for the blood to flow through. This treatment may be repeated at each blocked site in the coronary arteries.
Review Date: 7/6/2004 12:00:00 AM
Reviewed By: Seth Keller, M.D., Director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory at New York Hospital Center of Queens, Flushing, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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