During the procedure

If you have had a cardiac catheter you will find that this procedure is only slightly different from that procedure.

When you arrive at the catheter room, you will be transferred from your bed onto the X-ray table, which is narrow and firm, and moves up and down as necessary. Heart monitoring leads will be attached to your arms and legs. Your groin or wrist (wherever the catheter will be inserted) will be cleaned by an antiseptic lotion and covered with sterile towels.

A local anaesthetic will be injected to numb the skin around where the catheter will be inserted. You should not feel any pain apart from the slight discomfort of the local anaesthetic. Once the guide wire has been passed through the artery in the groin or wrist, you will not feel it as it is passed up to your heart. The narrowed part of the artery is found with the help of a dye, X-rays and a television screen. The X-ray equipment will be brought close to your chest so the balloon catheter can be put in the right position. You will have to rest your arms above your head, or on arm rests under the sheets, during parts of the procedure. This is so they do not get in the way of the X-ray machine.

While the balloon is being inflated you may experience your usual angina symptoms or some slight discomfort in your chest. This is due to the balloon temporarily blocking the flow of blood through the artery and is to be expected. However, you should still tell the doctor straightaway.

The procedure may take from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the number of narrowings in your coronary arteries. If more than one coronary artery needs treatment, each may be treated during the same procedure or on separate occasions.

At the end of the procedure, the doctor will remove the sheath that was inserted in the groin or wrist to allow the catheter to be passed to the heart . Sometimes the sheath in the groin may need to stay in place for a few hours or until the following morning. You will need to lie flat, or at a slight angle, before it is removed and for some time afterwards. The sheath is removed by applying pressure to the area. Sometimes a device is used to seal the entrance hole in the artery.