Angiography vs. Balloon and Stent Procedures: Understanding the Differences
Patients often confuse angiography with balloon angioplasty and stent placement, but angiography is only a vascular imaging procedure.
Chest Pain and Heart Disease Diagnosis
Patients with heart and vascular diseases commonly visit us with complaints of chest pain. After several medical tests, we assess whether there is an issue with the heart or blood vessels. In some cases, detailed examinations are necessary.
Chest pain often manifests as pressure or burning sensations. If the pain starts suddenly at rest, accompanied by sweating, the risk of a heart attack is high, and immediate medical attention is required. However, if the pain only occurs during exertion, emergency intervention is not necessary, though further examination and treatment are recommended. For non-urgent cases, where chest pain disrupts daily life, we conduct preliminary tests such as ECG, echocardiography, and stress testing. The stress test provides crucial information, and if the results indicate abnormalities, coronary angiography is necessary.
Angiography: A Vascular Imaging Method
Coronary angiography is performed to identify which coronary arteries are narrowed and to what degree. If necessary, balloon angioplasty or stent placement is used to open the blocked artery. While many people mistakenly believe that angiography is a procedure to open blocked arteries, it is actually just an imaging technique that assesses artery narrowing.
Following angiography, three treatment options are considered:
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Medication therapy,
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Balloon and stent placement,
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Bypass surgery.
Balloon and Stent Procedures: A Continuation of Angiography
If blockages are detected during angiography, artery opening procedures are usually carried out immediately. When we observe a narrowed or blocked coronary artery, we access the artery through the groin, pass a thin wire through the narrowed section, and expand the artery using a balloon before placing a stent.
Since this treatment follows angiography, patients often mistakenly assume they are the same procedure. Because both procedures occur in the same session, people perceive them as identical. However, angiography is purely a diagnostic imaging technique, while balloon and stent placement are actual treatment methods.
