Angioplasty Options

Angioplasty Surgery through WorldMed Assist is affordable through our partnerships with state of the art hospitals in the US and abroad. Medically trained case managers provide patient advocacy to ensure you receive the best medical care available for your procedure. Hospitals, officially recognized accreditation agencies such as JCAHO and the Joint Commission International (JCI), are thoroughly investigated prior to selection. Your procedure, including travel to and from the destination hospital, is managed by registered nurses from beginning to conclusion, guaranteeing you the optimum experience.

Most importantly, we provide you with a personal touch from start until well after your return home.

Options for quality angioplasty include:

• Angioplasty in the U.S.
• Angioplasty in India
• Angioplasty in Mexico
• Angioplasty in Turkey

We also provide information on costs:

• Cost of Angioplasty Surgery

What is Angioplasty?

Coronary angioplasty is a procedure that opens blocked arteries and allows blood to flow to your heart muscle. Angioplasty is not surgery. It opens a clogged coronary artery by inflating a tiny balloon in it.
Each year more than a million people in the United States have coronary angioplasty.

Why is Angioplasty done?

The arteries that bring blood to the heart muscle (coronary arteries) can become
clogged by plaque (a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances). This can
slow or stop blood flow through the heart’s blood vessels, leading to
chest pain or a heart attack. Increasing blood flow to the heart muscle can relieve chest pain and reduce the risk of heart attack. You may be a good candidate for an angioplasty if:

• Your blockage is small
• Your blockage can be reached by angioplasty
• The artery affected isn’t the main vessel supplying blood to the left side of your heart
• You don’t have heart failure

If the main artery supplying the left side of your heart is narrowed, if your heart muscle is weak or if you have small, diffusely diseased blood vessels, then coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) may be a better option. In addition, if you have diabetes and multiple blockages, your doctor may suggest coronary artery bypass surgery. The decision of angioplasty versus bypass surgery will depend on the details of your heart disease and overall medical condition.

Angioplasty preparation

To prepare for angioplasty, we require detailed medical information in the form of a medical questionnaire, ECG, Pulmonary tests and blood work. In some cases an Angiogram is required. All of this information will allow the doctors that we work with to determine your eligibility for the angioplasty procedure. Your doctor will give you specific instructions about any dietary changes or activity restrictions you should follow before surgery. As part of the pre-surgery tests done at our partner hospitals you will again receive chest X-rays, blood tests, an electrocardiogram and a coronary angiogram, which is a special type of X-ray procedure that uses dye to visualize the arteries that feed your heart.

How is angioplasty done?

General anesthesia isn’t needed, so you’re awake during the procedure.
The doctor threads a thin tube through a blood vessel in the arm or groin up to the involved site in the artery. The tube has a tiny balloon on the end. When the tube is in place, the doctor inflates the balloon to push the plaque outward against the wall of the artery. This widens the artery and restores blood flow. Angioplasty is usually combined with implantation of a small metal coil called a stent in the clogged artery to help prop it open and decrease the chance of it narrowing again (restenosis). The stent looks like a very tiny coil of wire mesh. Stents can be coated with medication that’s slowly released to help prevent arteries from re-clogging. These coated stents are called drug-eluting stents, in contrast to noncoated versions, which are called “bare-metal” stents. The entire angioplasty procedure can take 30 minutes to several hours.

Angioplasty Surgical Procedure

Angioplasty Recovery

You’ll remain hospitalized from 2 to 5 days while your heart is monitored and your vital signs are checked frequently. Your doctor will likely prescribe medications (anticoagulants) to prevent blood clots, relax your arteries and protect against coronary spasms. The hospital stay in our partner hospitals is much longer than what is provided in the US and gives your doctor adequate time to monitor your recovery. You should be able to return to work or your normal routine the week after angioplasty.

What about alternatives to angioplasty?

If the main artery supplying the left side of your heart is narrowed, if your heart muscle is weak or if you have small, diffusely diseased blood vessels, then coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) may be a better option. In addition, if you have diabetes and multiple blockages, your doctor may suggest coronary artery bypass surgery. The decision of angioplasty versus bypass surgery will depend on the details of your heart disease and overall medical condition.