Peripheral Vascular Disease

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery is done to go around a portion of an artery that has been narrowed or blocked by plaque buildup (atherosclerosis). It is a treatment for coronary artery disease.

The narrowed or blocked portion of the artery is bypassed using a blood vessel taken from elsewhere in the body (usually the chest or leg). Blood is redirected through the new blood vessel, restoring blood flow to the affected portion of the heart muscle.

Angioplasty is a procedure done to open a narrowed or blocked blood vessel so that blood can flow through it more easily.

During the angioplasty procedure, a thin flexible tube (catheter) is inserted through an artery in the groin, arm, or wrist and is carefully guided into the artery that is narrowed. After the tube reaches the narrowed artery, a small balloon at the end of the tube is inflated. The balloon may remain inflated for a short time. The pressure from the inflated balloon presses fat and calcium deposits (plaque) against the wall of the artery to improve blood flow.

After the fat and calcium buildup is compressed, a small, expandable tube called a stent is sometimes inserted into the artery to hold it open. The artery is less likely to get narrow again (restenosis) after angioplasty with stenting than after angioplasty alone.

Coronary atherectomy is a procedure that is done to open a narrowed coronary artery to improve blood flow to the heart muscle. The procedure removes fat and calcium buildup (plaque) in an artery. It is done as part of a coronary angioplasty procedure.

During an atherectomy, a thin, flexible tube (catheter) is inserted through an artery in the groin or wrist and carefully guided into the coronary artery that is narrowed. When the tube reaches the narrowed portion of the artery, the doctor uses a special cutting device to remove the plaque buildup from the artery wall.