Angioplasty vs Bypass Surgery: How Cardiologists Decide What You Need?
The cardiologist says the arteries are blocked. Then two words come up in the same conversation: angioplasty and bypass surgery. Most patients nod, take the papers and leave the clinic without fully understanding what either procedure involves or how a doctor chooses between them. To decide between angioplasty and bypass surgery cardiologists follow specific clinical criteria based on the number of blocked arteries, where the blockages sit, how well the heart is functioning and what other health conditions are present. Through this blog understand how that decision gets made and how patients walk into the next appointment with the right questions. What Is Angioplasty And When Do Cardiologists Recommend It? Angioplasty is a procedure where a cardiologist opens a blocked or narrowed artery using a thin tube with a small balloon at the tip. When the balloon inflates at the site of the blockage, it pushes the plaque against the artery wall and widens the passage. A small ...