Glossary of Terms
Coronary Angioplasty – ‘Angio’ means artery and ‘plasty’ means opening. This is the procedure used to widen the narrowing in a coronary artery with a special balloon. The narrowing is caused by a build up of fatty deposits in the walls of the arteries. A catheter with a deflated balloon attached to the tip, is passed into the coronary artery under x-ray guidance. A coronary angiogram is performed and the balloon is positioned within the narrowed artery. The balloon is then inflated widening the artery and improving blood flow. Occasionally an angioplasty is performed as an emergency procedure to try to improve blood flow during a heart attack.
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) – This is an operation to bypass a narrowed or blocked segment of a coronary artery using a graft. CABG surgery is performed primarily to relieve angina symptoms.
Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) – Angioplasty (with or without a stent) is also known as PTCA or Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.
Revascularisation – This describes the procedure for either opening up existing blood vessels (through angioplasty) or bypassing the blockage of the coronary arteries (through a coronary artery bypass graft).
Stents – A stent can also be inserted at the time of the angioplasty. It is a metal mesh or coil tube that can be inserted into the narrowed artery. It acts as a scaffold by widening the artery and keeping it open. Stents are argued to be superior in the long term compared with angioplasty.
