Coronary Angiography

A thin catheter is passed from the wrist or groin to the heart, contrast dye is injected, and X-ray images show the blood flowing through each coronary artery. It is the definitive test for finding a blockage: symptoms and scans raise the question, and the angiogram answers it.

What the test involves

You are awake, under local anaesthetic, and the diagnostic study itself takes thirty to forty-five minutes. If a blockage suitable for angioplasty is found, it is often treated in the same sitting, which extends the procedure to an hour or two. Afterwards the puncture site is pressed firmly for ten to fifteen minutes and you lie flat for some hours while it seals.

Recovery and what to expect

Most angiograms are day-care procedures: you go home the same evening or the next morning. A warm flush or brief nausea as the dye goes in is normal. Lifting is restricted for three to five days while the artery entry point heals, and the small bruise at the site fades over a week or two.

Before you agree to anything

Tell the team about every medicine you take — blood thinners especially — and any allergy, because the contrast dye contains iodine and your kidney function is checked before it is used. Ask whether the plan is diagnosis alone or diagnosis with angioplasty if needed, so nothing done under sedation comes as a surprise.

What we arrange around it

An angiogram is usually the first step of a larger plan, so we schedule it early in your stay: the films are reviewed with you the same day, and if onward treatment is advised there is time to consider it, take a second opinion, and proceed in the same trip if you choose to.