Angiography can
be called one of the greatest breakthroughs in medical science. Also
known as arteriography, angiography involves an imaging technique. This
is actually an xray study of blood vessels and organs of the body.
Special interest in this regard is given to the arteries, veins and the
heart chambers. Angiography may further be divided into cerebral
angiography, coronary angiography, pulmonary angiography, and kidney
angiography depending on the area of performance.
Well so, how is angiography done? Well in a layman’s language, it
involves inserting a long wire called catheter towards the heart
blindly. If the tip reaches the heart area, the expert pushes the tip in
one of the coronary arteries. Then, he/she injects a radioactive dye in
the hole in the catheter inside the coronary tubes and further
fluoroscopy photographs are taken. This is repeated with another
coronary tube and the same photos are taken.
In the pulmonary angiography procedure, the expert takes X-ray pictures
of the pulmonary blood vessels (those in the lungs). It is also known as
pulmonary arteriography. A patient who is about to have pulmonary
angiography done should usually not eat or drink anything for 4 to 8
hours before the procedure.
Kidney angiography too is a similar procedure to
look at the arteries that supply blood to the kidneys. Generally
a kidney angiography is done to evaluate blood flow to the
kidneys and guide in treatment choices.
Any problem of the veins in the brain is diagnosed using the cerebral
angiography method. A similar angiography method is used to visualize
the arterial and venous supply of the brain.
Coronary angiography, as the name suggests, is related to the heart
All patients undergoing angiography be it cerebral angiography, coronary
angiography, pulmonary angiography, and kidney angiography should inform
the doctor about any allergic reactions.
