Angiography & Angioplasty

Angianc (anjang) singgah rumah semalam dari tawakal hospital. Dimaklumkan hospital mengarahkan ke Ampang Puteri esok, Rabu untuk buat angiogram. Ni wikipedia nak beritahu apo ko bondo angiogram tu. Baca jugak patient preparation after the jump break.

Angiography or arteriography is a medical imaging technique used to visualize the inside, or lumen, of blood vessels and organs of the body, with particular interest in the arteries, veins and the heart chambers. This is traditionally done by injecting a radio-opaque contrast agent into the blood vessel and imaging using X-ray based techniques such as fluoroscopy. The word itself comes from the Greek words angeion, "vessel", and graphein, "to write or record". The film or image of the blood vessels is called an angiograph, or more commonly, an angiogram.

Although the term angiography is strictly defined as based on projectional radiography, the term has been applied to newer vascular imaging techniques such as CT angiography and MR angiography.

Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel; typically as a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size using water pressures some 75 to 500 times normal blood pressure (6 to 20 atmospheres).
The balloon crushes the fatty deposits, so opening up the blood vessel to improved flow, and the balloon is then collapsed and withdrawn.

The word is composed of the medical combining forms of the Greek words αγγειος aggeîos meaning "vessel" and πλαστός plastós meaning "formed" or "moulded". Angioplasty has come to include all manner of vascular interventions typically performed in a minimally invasive or percutaneous method.

Patient Preparation: Don't eat or drink for six to eight hours before the angiogram. Make sure your doctor or nurse practictioner knows ahead of time all the medications you are currently taking in case one needs to be stopped. Also tell your doctor if you are diabetic or have allergies of any sort. Once admitted, you'll be given some standard checks and the area around the puncture site will be shaved. Every hospital has their own protocol. It's very helpful if you have a family member or friend with you. A simple angiogram is usually done as an outpatient procedure and you will go home the same day.