How are Angiograms Used to Find Coronary Artery Blockages? - Medical Animation
MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: To begin the procedure, the doctor will numb the skin in your groin. A needle will be placed through your skin and into the femoral artery. Next, a flexible guidewire will be passed through the needle into your artery. Then, the needle will be withdrawn. It will be exchanged for a small, flexible tube called a sheath. This permits access into your artery. Next, the guidewire will be advanced up to your heart. A flexible tube called a catheter will be advanced over the wire to your coronary arteries. The progress of the procedure will be checked with an X-ray device called a fluoroscope. At this point, your doctor will remove the guidewire. Then the doctor will move the tip of the catheter just inside the coronary artery to be examined. A special dye will be injected into the artery. This allows your doctor to view it better with the fluoroscope. The dye will make any blockages in the artery stand out.
