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Peripheral Angioplasty

Balloon catheter inserted into artery, balloon inflated, and blood flow restored.

 

Peripheral angioplasty is a procedure that helps open blockages in peripheral arteries. These vessels carry blood to your lower body, legs and arms.

Speak with your healthcare provider about the risks and complications of angioplasty.


Before the procedure

Recommendations of what to do include: 

  • Tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take including over-the-counter medicines, herbal supplements and any allergies you may have, especially to iodine. 
  • Follow any directions you are given for not eating or drinking before the procedure.
  • Arrange for a family member or friend to help you home after the procedure.

 

During the procedure

  • You may get medicine through an intravenous (IV) line to relax you. An injection of numbing medicine will be given at the insertion site.
  • The site used is generally an artery in the groin, although the wrist or arm may be used. The healthcare provider makes a tiny cut (incision) in the skin near an artery in your groin.
  • Your healthcare provider puts a thin, flexible tube (catheter) through the incision. He or she then threads the catheter into the affected artery while using x-ray imaging to see where the catheter is going.
  • Contrast “dye” is injected through the catheter and into the artery to be able to see images of the blood vessels on x-ray (angiography).
  • A tiny balloon is pushed through the catheter to the blockage. Your healthcare provider inflates and deflates the balloon a few times. This compresses the plaque (blockage).
  • A small metal or mesh tube (stent) may be put in the artery to help keep it open. The balloon and catheter are then taken out.

 

After the procedure

  • You will be taken to a recovery area.

  • Pressure is put on the insertion site for about 30 to 45 minutes.

  • Your healthcare provider will tell you how long you need to lie flat and keep the insertion site still. 

  • You may go home that day or you may spend the night in the facility. You will be given aftercare instructions for when you go home. 

  • If a stent was placed in your artery, you will be put on a medicine such as aspirin or Plavix to prevent blood clots from forming.

 

Call your healthcare provider

Call your healthcare provider right away or get immediate medical attention if you:

  • Notice a lump or bleeding at the site where the catheter was inserted.
  • Feel increasing pain at the insertion site.
  • Become lightheaded or dizzy.
  • Have leg pain or numbness.
  • Have a leg that turns blue or feels cold.
  • Develop a fever greater than 101.5°F (38.6°C).
  • Develop a skin rash.
  • Cannot urinate after the procedure.
  • Have chest pain or shortness of breath.

 

 

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