How Angioplasty Cleans Out Plugged Arteries

Atherosclerosis, or the hardening of the arteries, plagues our health. Atherosclerosis causes artery vessels to become blocked, inhibiting the flow of blood through our bodies. High-fat diets, lack of exercise, smoking habits, and genetic predispositions lead to this deadly condition.

Atherosclerosis occurs when lipids, triglycerides, and other fatty substances, such as cholesterol, build up in our blood stream. As these fatty substance calcify and become hard, they can slowly build up in the arteries of the body. As the fatty deposits, known as plaque (yes, the same stuff that builds up on teeth), begin to restrict the blood flow through the arteries, blood pressure builds up. High blood pressure is detrimental to health. It causes the heart to work harder, thus wearing the vital organ more quickly than usual. Early death is the consequence. Although most cases of atherosclerosis can be fixed with medication and a change in diet, smoking, and exercise habits, surgery is occasionally required. This can mean a bypass surgery. One of the methods of clearing arteries that is grabbing the attention of doctors is a procedure called angioplasty.

How does angioplasty work? A catheter, or a long tube, is threaded through the bodies blood vessel system. Using a camera on the end of the catheter, a doctor mechanically feeds the tube to the location of the fatty tissue build up. Once he has gotten to the tube into the proper position, the artery repair can begin. The most common method of fixing the artery involves inflating a balloon placed on the end of the catheter. As the balloon inflates, the artery is widened at the point of the blockage. This allows the blood to flow at a near normal rate.

Often, the angioplasty involves placing a stent at the location of the fixation. The stent, a metal spring or mesh tube placed at the blockage location, ensures that the artery walls don't close back together. Not only does adding a stent open up a near-blocked artery, it make sure that the artery doesn't slowly clamp back down, causing a patient to have to go in for another angioplasty.