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percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

medicine
Also known as: PTCA

Quick Summary

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is a medical procedure used to open blocked blood vessels, most commonly coronary arteries. It involves inserting a catheter with a small, inflatable balloon near the blockage. Inflating the balloon flattens plaques against the artery wall, restoring blood flow to the heart muscle. This is a less invasive alternative to coronary bypass surgery. PTCA can also be used to open obstructed heart valves. Often, a stent, a mesh tube, is placed in the artery to keep it open. While complications are rare, restenosis (re-narrowing) can occur, though drug-eluting stents help prevent this.12

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