Coronography without artery occlusion

Coronarography without occlusion of the artery

Narrowing of blood vessels is caused by the atherosclerotic plagues that grow up as a result of cholesterol accumulation. Narrowed blood vessels aggravate blood flow. This results in disturbed blood supply to the heart muscle which manifests by chest pain. The sequels of disturbed coronary circulation are myocardial infarctions, life-threatening arrhythmias or even acute coronary death.

Coronarography – the examination of cardiac blood vessels also known as heart probing is one of the most precise diagnostic methods to diagnose cardiovascular pathology.

About the procedure              

Coronarography is a special examination of coronary arteries of the heart, which is carried out under X-ray control; it allows to find whether your heart coronary arteries are narrowed or occluded.

To whom this procedure is indicated?

This examination is carried out if your doctor suspects that you suffer from coronary heart disease.

Before the procedure

You must tell the doctor what medicines are you taking. You also have to inform your doctor if you have allergy to medicines;  allergy to iodine and Novocain is especially important. If you have an allergy to iodine, special medical preparation before the procedure will be required. It is also important to tell the doctor if aspirin is contraindicated to you. During the preliminary consultation a cardiologist from our clinic will carry out all necessary examinations to assess patient’s general health condition.

To ensure the best possible result, before the procedure you should follow physician's instructions.

During the procedure

This procedure usually is carried out via the artery of arm (or in some cases via the femoral artery) under the local anaesthesia. The patient should lie down on the special table an numbing medicine is injected in the expected puncture site; then a catheter (probe) of few millimetres in diameter is inserted into the artery. The catheter is cautiously pushed until it reaches heart coronary arteries; after the injection of the contrast material and under X-ray control the coronary heart vessels become visible in the monitor’s screen. The image analysis presents the precise evaluation of the condition of heart blood vessels. This procedure lasts for about 5-10 minutes.

After the procedure

To avid the potential bleeding a compressing dressing is applied o the puncture site (if the femoral artery was used as the access site –  a weight is applied on he leg for 4-6 hours or the puncture site  is closed using a special device. It is recommended for the patient to lie down and drink liquids as much as possible to wash away the radiopaque contrast medium. Usually the patient is discharged on the same day after the procedure. Before leaving the hospital the doctor will provide you with the additional instructions regarding your further treatment.