Daughter treatment (PCI)
Following your cardiac catheterization (CAG), you will undergo an angioplasty (PCI). Angioplasty is very similar to a cardiac catheterization, which you may have undergone previously. A catheter is inserted through the wrist or groin into the coronary artery. A guidewire is then inserted into the coronary artery. Balloon catheters and stent catheters are then inserted through the catheter and over the guidewire into the blockage. Once the balloon is at the site of the blockage, it is inflated for a few seconds, pushing the blockage away.
Usually, the cardiologist will place one or more stents in the coronary artery. This is a metal cylinder made of mesh. The stent remains in the coronary artery after the catheter is removed.