Guide to Heart Disease

Q. What is coronary angiography after a heart attack ?
A. The test of coronary angiography should not be taken lightly. It is an invasive test and does create complications even in the best heart centers allover the world. The potential risk is admittedly small, but it should be justifiable. A catheter tube is passed inside the coronary arteries and in the heart chambers, and a radio-opaque dye is injected in order to visualize the structural disease of the coronary arteries and study the function of the heart chambers. It is not a pleasant procedure. This method of study does not help much in arriving at the medical diagnosis or in outlining future medical treatment.
It is required if “by-pass” or “balloon” surgical treatment is contemplated, as a better alternative, for a given patient. The patient, at the same time, should also be willing to accept to undergo surgical treatment, should there be an indication after angiography study. If the patient is unwilling to undergo a major surgery within six months or so, it is of no use to a physician for planning the medical line of treatment for his patient. In such a situation, this procedure, with its potential risk, though minimal, is uncalled for. It only becomes an academic exercise with no ultimate benefit to the patient.

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