Live Life Team
The technique also known as arteriography is used for seeing the blood flow in the human body through the veins and arteries. This is a special form of an X-ray examination. The Area to be investigated can be looked into great details with this technique. The conclusions can be drawn about the blood vessel blockage and the irregularities, if any. The test is also used to check the coronary arteries of the heart which could be useful to diagnose the blockage or narrowing of arteries.
Why is it required
In a situation, where the doctor has a suspicion that the arteries may be blocked or narrowed down, they can use the angiography and get a better outlook. The arteries may hold key to the health of a person, since they are responsible for the complete flow of blood in the body. So, it’s inevitable to find out if something is wrong with the arteries and blood flow. The same would be needed in relation to the brain, limbs, heart of any other internal organ and any serious artery disorder would call for this test. The test can let a conclusion to be drawn about the best possible treatment.
How is it performed
For kids, a general anesthetic would be used. The elder and the young may be given local anesthesia for this test. The test would need a needle being inserted into an artery which would normally be located at the arm, leg or Groin. Through the needle, a thin guide wire is inserted which is connected to an X-ray control with a TV image intensifier. Then a dye is injected through the catheter which is placed in the guide wire flowing this dye through the blood vessel. The images can be seen on the TV through the process and a digital subtraction takes place which gives a better detailed image of the blood vessels to eliminate any details which may not be needed. There is also a type of angiography, called as Flurescein angiography which could be useful to examine the tiny blood vessels and the dye injected can help to capture some series of photographs. The complete process might take from 20 minutes to an hour and a half to complete and completely depends on the complexity of the matter.
What is this used for
The tests are a way to find out an X-ray picture which is taken to see the blood flow in the body and also include arteries, blood vessels and heart. There are different types of angiographic test for brain, arms, legs, kidneys or lymph vessels. Then there are lots of other procedures which are available for complex details and they fall under the angiography known as Right Heart ventriculography, aortography or left heart ventriculography. The reports and the outcomes of the tests may be used for various purposes like detection of cancerous and non-cancerous tumors, detection of aneurysms, locating a potential site for any internal bleeding, find out if the surgery can be conducted for a specific issue.
