Angioplasty for Coronary Artery Disease

Treatment Overview

Angioplasty is a procedure that helps blood flow to the heart muscle. Angioplasty widens a coronary artery that is narrowed by coronary artery disease. It opens a coronary artery that is narrowed or blocked during a heart attack.


How is angioplasty done?


Your doctor first does a cardiac catheterization test, also called a coronary angiogram. He or she uses the catheter to find narrowing or blockages in the coronary arteries. This is done by injecting a dye that contains iodine into the arteries. The dye makes the coronary arteries visible on a digital X-ray screen.


View the slideshow on angioplasty for coronary artery disease to see how an angioplasty is done. In certain cases, atherectomy might be done to shave away plaque in the artery.

What is a stent?

A stent is a small, expandable tube. It is inserted into the artery during angioplasty. The stent keeps the artery open.


A stent is designed to:

  • Seal any tears in the artery wall.

What To Expect


After angioplasty, you will be moved to a recovery room or to the coronary care unit. Your heart rate and blood pressure will be closely monitored and the catheter insertion site checked for bleeding. You may have a large bandage or a compression device on your groin or arm at the catheter insertion site to prevent bleeding. You may stay 1 night in the hospital.




Why It Is Done

Heart attack

Emergency angioplasty is typically the first choice of treatment for a heart attack.


Stable angina

Although many things are involved, angioplasty might be done for stable angina if you have:footnote 1

  • Frequent or severe angina that is not responding to medicine and lifestyle changes.
  • An artery that is likely to be treated successfully with angioplasty.
  • You are in good enough health to undergo the procedure.

Angioplasty may not be a reasonable treatment option when:

  • You cannot take blood thinner medicines (aspirin and another antiplatelet medicine) after getting a stent.

How Well It Works

Heart attack



Stable angina

Angioplasty can improve your angina symptoms. It might not relieve all of your symptoms. But you might not need to take angina medicines anymore. Or you might not need to take as much.

There are some things that angioplasty can't do. In people who have stable angina:footnote 4, footnote 5

  • It won't prevent a heart attack any more than medicines and lifestyle changes do.
  • It won't help you live any longer than medicines and lifestyle changes do.

It may be hard to understand why angioplasty does not lower your risk of a heart attack more than medical therapy does. It's because of how heart disease and plaque happen in your arteries.

Even if you get a stent, you still may have other places in your arteries where a heart attack can happen. During the procedure, your doctor finds and treats the places where plaque narrows the artery and limits blood flow. But smaller plaques can build up in other places in your arteries. They don't limit blood flow much or cause symptoms. But if one ruptures, it can cause a heart attack. This type of plaque is treated with medicines to lower cholesterol.


Angioplasty has some risks. They include:

  • The need for emergency bypass surgery during the procedure.
  • Heart attack.
  • Stroke.
  • Death.

Your age and health affect your risk of problems. For example, older people or those with heart failure or kidney disease have a higher risk of problems. Your doctor can help you know your risk.

The risks of problems where the catheter was placed include:

  • Bleeding.
  • Damage to blood vessels.
  • Pain.
  • Swelling.
  • Bruising.
  • Tenderness.

Over time, there is a chance that blood vessels with stents can close. There also is a chance that you'll need another angioplasty or a bypass surgery.

Radiation: There is always a slight risk of damage to cells or tissues from being exposed to any radiation. This includes the low levels of X-ray used for this procedure. But the risk of damage from the X-rays is usually very low compared with the possible benefits of the procedure.



  5. Sedlis SP, et al. (2015). Effect of PCI on long-term survival in patients with stable ischemic heart disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(20): 1937–1946. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1505532. Accessed November 12, 2015.


Current as of: December 15, 2019

Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
Rakesh K. Pai MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology
E. Gregory Thompson MD - Internal Medicine
Martin J. Gabica MD - Family Medicine
Kathleen Romito MD - Family Medicine
Adam Husney MD - Family Medicine
Robert A. Kloner MD, PhD - Cardiology

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