Coronary Angioplasty Cardiac Catheterization Stent Placement

Coronary Angioplasty Cardiac Catheterization Stent Placement & CABG On-Pump PreOp Patient Education - http://PreOp.com

Coronary Angioplasty with Stent Placement -Patient Education

To do a cardiac cath, a cardiologist places a thin tube called a catheter through an artery in your leg or arm to reach your heart.
The Femoral artery in the leg is most commonly used. The catheter is inserted into the artery in the groin then guided to reach the heart.
The radial artery in the arm is another site that a catheter can be placed. The catheter is inserted at the wrist then guided to reach the heart.
Which artery is selected for the procedure depends on your personal situation, and the experience and training of your Cardiologist.
A contrast dye that can be seen with an x-ray machine is given.
X-ray pictures and video of the dye show the cardiologist how blood is moving through your heart.

Treatment of coronary artery disease is based on several factors, including your other existing medical problems, particularly diabetes,...as well as how many arteries are blocked, ….and how severe, and where the arteries are blocked.

Non-invasive recommendations can include,
lifestyle changes, like improving your diet, starting an exercise routine, and finding ways to manage your stress. Also, quitting smoking and making changes in medications.

Common procedures to treat coronary artery disease include,
open heart bypass surgery to replace blocked arteries, and….
angioplasty to improve blood flow through the blockages

A heart catheterization procedure, also called cardiac cath is needed to decide which treatment option is appropriate for you.

A cardiac cath is the first step of an angioplasty

CABG On-Pump PreOp Patient Education

Your doctor has recommended an “on pump” coronary artery bypass graft procedure, also called CABG
Before we talk about this procedure, let’s review some information about your body and your medical condition.

The heart is in the middle of the chest, under the ribs.
It is protected by the sternum, also called the breastbone.
The heart is a muscle that pumps blood to all parts of the body through blood vessels called arteries.
Veins are vessels that carry blood back to the heart.
The aorta is the largest artery in the body.
Two vessels that branch off from the aorta, are the right and left coronary arteries. They supply the heart muscle with the oxygen rich blood that is necessary to keep it working.
Coronary arteries can become blocked by plaque, fat and calcium deposits that build up over years.

The result is coronary artery disease, also called heart disease.

Severe blockages cause chest pain, heart attacks, and sometimes death.

During a CABG procedure, new pathways called bypasses are put in place to carry blood past, and around blockages.

Healthier blood vessels from other sites in the body are used to create each bypass.

A section of vein from your leg, or an artery from your arm, may be removed and used to create the bypass. These transplanted vessels are called grafts.

The right and left internal thoracic arteries are also commonly used as grafts.
These arteries naturally pass close to the heart. When creating a bypass with one of these vessels often only one end of the vessel is moved to the coronary artery, past the blockage.
This concept is similar to moving a hose from watering one plant to another.

When arteries or veins are moved or removed from one body part to another, this possible only when there will still be enough blood supplied from other nearby vessels.

There are different surgical techniques for coronary artery bypass, on pump and off pump.

During the several hours it takes to do an on pump CABG surgery, the heart is stopped for about 30 - 90 minutes. This keeps the heart muscle still while the surgeon sews vessels into place to create the necessary bypasses.

While the heart is stopped, a special pump, called a heart-lung machine, keeps blood oxygenated and flowing through the body.

Blood is carried from the body through tubing to a machine where it is mixed with oxygen, then pumped back to the body.

After all of the grafts have been placed, the heart is restarted, and the pump is disconnected.

In some situations a less invasive CABG procedure may be offered. This can include an off pump technique where the heart is not stopped. In some cases smaller incisions may be used.

During these procedures, converting to an on pump procedure is still possible.

Individual surgical treatment decisions depend on many factors, including the experience of the surgeon, how many arteries are involved, the location of the blockages, and their severity.