CORONARY

ARTERY DISEASE
Angiography
Its a medical imaging technique used to visualize the
inside, or lumen, of blood vessels and organs of the body,
with particular interest in the arteries, veins and the heart
chambers.

This is traditionally done by injecting a radio-opaque
contrast agent into the blood vessel and imaging using X-
ray based techniques such as fluoroscopy.
Coronary angiography

One of the most common angiograms performed is to
visualize the blood in the coronary arteries.
A long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is used to
administer the X-ray contrast agent at the desired area to
be visualized.
The catheter is threaded into an artery in the forearm, and
the tip is advanced through the arterial system into the
major coronary artery.
Normal Coronary Angiography





ULTRASOUND
Intravascular ultrasound is a test that uses sound waves to
see inside blood vessels.
IVUS is almost always done at the end of angioplasty
with stent placement, or coronary catheterization.
Angioplasty gives a general look at the coronary arteries,
but it cannot show the walls of the arteries.
IVUS images show the artery walls and can reveal
cholesterol and fat deposits (plaques). Buildup of these
deposits can increase your risk of a heart attack.
Ultrasound

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) examination of the
proximal left circumflex coronary artery shows a
thrombus

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

Multi-slice CT
This test is one of the single most important advance in
the development of non-invasive heart and coronary
artery imaging.
Multi-slice CT (MSCT) coronary angiogram allows
doctors to determine if an individual has any coronary
artery narrowing even before symptoms develop.
Through an intravenous drip in the elbow, contrast dye is
injected, and the person is asked to hold his/her breath for
about 10 -15 seconds, and lie very still.
After the CT scanner has obtained the X-ray images, the
person is allowed to go home, a procedure which takes
approximately 60 minutes.
Next, coronary arteries, their walls and contents
(cholesterol plaques) are prominently and accurately
quantified and measured. Hardened cholesterol plaques
develop calcium, which can be quantified into a format
(Calcium Score) to predict future cardiovascular events
like heart attacks.