Coronary angioplasty is the most common procedure we coordinate in the cardiology track. It is also the one patients are most nervous about, usually because of what they have read on forums written in the 1990s. Here is what the workup looks like today, at the hospitals we use.
Who actually needs one
Stable angina that does not respond to medication. An abnormal stress test with imaging correlation. And of course, the emergency case where someone is mid-infarct. If you are considering a stent because a screening scan picked up a plaque and you feel fine, have a second conversation with a cardiologist before you fly.
Access site: radial or femoral
Most of our cases are radial now. Less bleeding, you sit up within an hour, and you can shower the next morning. Femoral is still used for complex cases, left-main work, and anyone whose radial artery is too small. Your cardiologist decides on the morning, not before.
What stents we use
Drug-eluting stents from Abbott, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic. The surgeon chooses based on vessel diameter and length. Bioresorbable options are available but not our first call for most anatomies.
Hospital stay
- Elective radial case: one night.
- Elective femoral case: two nights.
- Post-infarct case: three to five nights in a cardiac ward.
Medications after discharge
Dual antiplatelet therapy for twelve months (aspirin plus ticagrelor or clopidogrel), a statin, and whichever blood pressure medication you were already on, adjusted. Stopping the antiplatelets early is the single biggest reason stents fail, so we build in a thirty-day reminder.
Flying home
You can fly seventy-two hours after an elective case, assuming the ECG and the access site are clean. We stay in touch with your cardiologist at home for the first ninety days.