Carotid Angiogram

An angiogram is one of the most common procedures that heart surgeons perform to check the health of the heart and specifically to check for the functioning and supply of blood to the heart. Fundamentally, the technique that the angiogram encompasses can be used in a number of other applications. In a cardiac angiogram, an artery in the leg is used as an entry point and a tube is inserted and guided through to the heart. Here, a contrasting dye is used and injected at a precise time. Then a series of x-rays or CT scans are taken and these then form a time-lapse picture of the movement of blood through the blood vessels of the heart. Using the principle of this procedure, other angiograms can also be performed.

Reasons for Carotid Angiogram

One of these angiograms is called a carotid angiogram. This angiogram is carried out on the carotid artery or the artery in the neck that supplies blood to the head. One of the most common problems in this blood vessel is the problem of stenosis and embolisms. These will choke off the supply of blood to the brain causing a stroke. Plaque is one of the most common problems in the carotid artery and is caused by the deposit of certain materials in the blood vessel. This deposit of materials can consist of cholesterol, which gradually destroys vessels of the herat. The procedure is really quite similar to a cardiac angiogram though the vessel in question that has to be punctured is the carotid artery itself. Ideally, a patient needs to be sedated during these kinds of treatment and diagnostic procedures.

Procedure to Conduct Carotid Angiogram

The use of a contrasting dye is required so that the flow of blood then shows up on the image used. Images consist of X-rays, CT scanning, and MRI scanning. These three methods, out of which an MRI is usually the best, consist of taking a picture many times in a second and then developing a time-lapsed picture of the flow of blood. As an accompaniment to this procedure, sometimes a biopsy might be necessary or even direct administration of ant—coagulation factors. Recovering from these types of procedures takes a few hours in the recovery room. Ensuring that the wound from where the puncture was made is taken care of is also important, as the vessel needs some special attention to ensure that the it does not puncture or collapse completely