subject: Cardiac Disease And Angioplasty [print this page] A healthy heart in a healthy body is the base of a long life. But not everyone is blessed with a healthy heart. Cardiac arrests are a humdrum affair in todays stress prone world. The hectic work schedule in the busy cities and change in lifestyle are the results of a weak heart. Cardiac is a term used in relation to the heart. The most common form of cardiac disease is the narrowing of the blood vessels. The heart, weighing 250 g to 300 g in females and 300 g to 350 g in males on an average, is a powerful organ that facilitates pumping of blood throughout the blood vessels by repetitive, rhythmic contractions 72 beats per minute. When the blood vessels are narrowed, proper pumping of blood doesnt take place leading to cardiac arrests and other cardiac related diseases. Coronary angioplasty is the answer to such a malady.
Angioplasty is the mechanical widening of a narrowed or blocked blood vessel. It is not only suggested to treat the heart; angioplasty is also recommended by doctors for similar treatments related to leg arteries (peripheral angioplasty), renal artery, carotid artery, cerebral artery, and more. In the process, an unfilled and shrunken balloon on a balloon catheter (guide wire), is passed into the blocked or narrowed blood vessel and then puffed up to a fixed size. This is done using water pressures, which is around 75 to 500 times of normal blood pressure. The balloon thus inflated crushes the fatty deposits, widening the blood vessel for improved blood flow.
Once it is done and once the doctor is confirmed that the blocking has opened up well up to the satisfaction, the balloon is then collapsed and withdrawn. In a cardiac angioplasty, the narrowed coronary arteries are widened for normal flow of blood.
