Coronary angioplasty, also called balloon angioplasty or percutaneous coronary intervention, is a common interventional procedure made possible by cardiac catheterization. Using a catheter with a small balloon at the tip, this therapeutic procedure treats the stenotic (narrowed) or obstructed coronary arteries by inflating the balloon once it is in place.

Standard diagnostic procedures aided by cardiac catheterization include coronary angiography or coronary arteriography. Both procedures feature the release of a radio-opaque contrast agent into the blood vessel via the catheter and X-ray based imaging techniques such as fluoroscopy. Other catheter-based diagnostic procedures include measuring blood pressure within the heart and the acquisition of information about the heart’s pumping capability.

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