Angioplasty Pros and Cons

Your heart beats because you are alive or take it this way, you are alive because your heart beats. Every beat is important for your life. If you miss even a single heartbeat it can adversely affect your health.

Angioplasty is one of the surgical processes, which is used to keep your heart working after any kind of blockage. In this article we will discuss angioplasty pros and cons which will help you to understand this surgery well.

Angioplasty is a process of removing or reducing the blockage which is due to a fatty substance called plaque, to increase the blood flow in the arteries. In this process a balloon is inserted in the large arteries of legs or arms and is blown up at the place of blockage which widens the arteries and pushes the plaque towards the wall of the arteries.

The formation of plaque is called atherosclerosis, which is caused due to obesity, excess smoking, aging, hypertension, diabetes, high amount of saturated fats in the diet and cardiovascular disease. Formation of plaque can lead to complete blockage or blood clots.

To avoid the reformation of plaque and to save the arteries from re-narrowing, stents are used. There are many types of angioplasty but broadly, we can divide them into four parts:

• Atherectomy
• Balloon Angioplasty
• Laser Angioplasty
• Coronary Stenting

In spite of the fact that angioplasty is widely used all over the world, people still have a question in their mind, Is angioplasty dangerous? Yes, there is always a risk, when it comes to your heart. There are some good points as well as bad points of angioplasty. Let's find out its pros and cons.

Angioplasty is very useful in removing the blockage from the arteries. It is one of the most effective methods in heart treatment. Following are some of the pros of angioplasty.

✔ It removes or reduces the blockage from the arteries.

✔ It helps in improving symptoms of coronary heart diseases such as shortness of breadth and angina.
✔ Reduces the risk of heart attack which in turn reduces the risk of death under critical conditions.
✔ Angioplasty is better than open heart surgeries.

✔ Stents used after the balloon process keeps the arteries open and prevents regrowth of plaque.
✔ Carelessness in atherosclerosis can also result in heart or brain hemorrhage. Hence going for angioplasty is a good idea.

✔ It improves the blood flow in the particular part of the body, reducing the risk of other diseases.
✔ The duration of the surgery is 30 minutes to 1 hour and the recovery is quick as compared to open heart surgery.

When talked about the cons of angioplasty only 5-6% people face complications and less than 1% people die because of it. But regardless of its pros, following are some of the angioplasty risks. Let's check out the cons in angioplasty.

✘ Bruising and Bleeding at the place of catheters insertion place.

✘ Kidney problem may come into notice in people who have underlying kidney diseases.
✘ Some people are allergic to the dyes given during the angioplasty.
✘ People above 75 years are at greater risk than the other age groups.

✘ People who suffer from diabetes, extensive heart disease, blood clot in the arteries are also under the danger zone.
✘ It can damage the nearby blood vessel or heart valve.
✘ There is a risk of re-narrowing of the arteries.

From the above mentioned information you can say that angioplasty is not very safe, but is effective and has helped many people to overcome their cardiac problems. We can't say that it can reduce the risk of heart attack, but can help your heart to perform better.

So, it's better to take precautions instead of thinking about the effectiveness of any process. Try to reduce your body fat and lower the amount of saturated fats in your diet. Quit smoking as it contributes a lot to cardiac diseases.

I hope, this article has helped you to get a better insight about angioplasty pros and cons. So, save your heart from dangerous consequences and opt for the best treatment.