What are Angiograms?
Angiograms are x-ray pictures of blood vessels. To do an angiogram, the doctor puts a catheter (a very thin, flexible tube) into the blood vessel. He or she then injects a contrast dye into the blood vessel that shows up on x-rays. The angiogram allows your health care provider to check the inside of a blood vessel to see if it is narrowed, leaking, misshapen, enlarged, or blocked. Sometimes x-ray pictures of blood vessels can be done with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT scan) so that a catheter does not have to be put into the blood vessel.
Angiograms are X-ray pictures of blood vessels. To do an angiogram, the doctor puts a catheter (a very thin, flexible tube) into the blood vessel. He or she then injects a contrast dye into the blood vessel that shows up on X-rays. The angiogram allows your healthcare provider to check the inside of a blood vessel to see if it is narrowed, leaking, misshapen, enlarged, or blocked. Sometimes X-ray pictures of blood vessels can be done with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT scan) so that a catheter does not have to be put into the blood vessel.
Simply put, angiograms are x-ray images of blood vessels in the body. Referred to as either angiograms or arteriograms, the x-ray images allow a doctor to determine whether a blood vessel is blocked, constricted, malformed, or otherwise obstructed or damaged. The procedure by which angiograms are obtained is called angiography. Angiograms are often requested by a doctor when MRI technology does not reveal a suspected problem. The procedure involves the insertion of a small, flexible tube, or a catheter, into the blood vessel. A water-soluble dye which shows up on angiograms is then injected into the blood vessel, allowing the doctor to see how the blood is flowing through the blood vessel. Angiograms are commonly used to check blood flow to the brain, the heart, the kidneys, and the legs. In most cases, angiography can be performed on an outpatient basis. The doctor will give his or her patient instructions prior to the procedure, but little preparation is necessary. Most people are to
11-20. Conventional angiography involves taking x-ray images while introducing contrast into blood vessels. This creates the best image of blood vessels (arteries or veins, depending on how long you wait. It does involve heavy dye loads (which can be decreased somewhat by digital subtraction angiography. Recently, CT angiograms may be done by 2-D and 3-D reconstructions after intravenous contrast administration and MRA can also show blood vessels (although artifacts are more problematic with this technology).
