Coronory Angiography
Coronary angiography is done if you have angina, breathlessness or suspected coronary artery disease. A coronary angiography is a minimally invasive test done at a catheterization laboratory in major hospitals. This is the gold standard for diagnosis of coronary heart disease. It is done to diagnose the exact location of a block in the blood vessels of the heart. It forms the backbone for planning medical treatment, angioplasty or bypass surgery.
It can be done as a day care procedure with 1 day admission. The procedure time is 30-45 minutes. It is done under local anaesthesia, where the patient remains conscious throughout. It is a relatively safe procedure. A tube called catheter is inserted through the wrist or groin which is used to inject a dye in the arteries of the heart. A series of x rays called angiograms are taken after injecting the dye in the heart.