Angioplasty and Bypass surgery are Gold Standard treatments for Coronary artery Blockages also known as heart blockages. However, recent advances in Angioplasty techniques, made the things more convenient for the patient to reduce hospital stays and have faster recovery.
According to Dr Abhijit Joshi, HOD Cardiology, Manipal Hospital Baner, Pune, nowadays, various Angioplasty techniques like Rotablation and Intra Vascular Lithotripsy had reduced the need of Bypass surgery in calcium deposited and hard coronary artery blocks.
Also, imagining techniques like Intra vascular ultrasound and Optical coherence tomography made complex Angioplasties more safe for the patients, Dr. Joshi revealed.
What are the benefits of angioplasty?
- Minimally Invasive Technique: Angioplasty is done with local anaesthesia. A small puncture is done to insert catheter via artery placed on patients wrist or groin. This reduces anesthesia and wound complications.
- Low risk of complications: As this procedure is done through minimal puncture, site complications of wound infection, anesthesia complications are reduced at major extent.
- Fast Recovery: As the procedure is minimally invasive, patient recovers in couple of days. Patient can walk on Day 2 or Day 3 and resume his/her normal duties in the following weeks. In fact, in few patients if the angioplasty is done through wrist area then he/she can mobilize on same day.
- Short Hospital Stay: Fastest recovery and lesser complications reduces the hospital stay and cost. Patient can be discharged on Day 3 & can return to his regular activities after a week or so.
- Preservation of Heart Functioning: During heart attack, getting the blood flow to normal is the top priority and here Angioplasty helps in preventing heart muscle damage and maintaining the heart function in long term period.
“In high risk patients like Uncontrolled Diabetes Mellitus, Morbid obesity, Chronic Asthma, Poor lung function or vertebro- spinal abnormalities, Angioplasty remains the only choice of re-vascularisation,” Dr. Joshi told Financial Express.com.