Coronary Angiography (CAG) in Ahmedabad

Patient needs to take care of following points before entering the operation theater for a coronary angiography:

• Letter of consent - The patient needs to sign a letter of consent for giving his approval for undergoing this procedure. It is a legal requirement.
• Overnight stay - The patient maybe called to hospital a night before the day of surgery.
• Blood thinning medications - Medications which are prescribed to you for some other health condition and which lead to blood thinning need to be avoided in pre and post surgery phase.
• Fasting - Food and water intake needs to be stopped 4 hours prior to surgery.
• Allergies - You need to discuss with your doctor if you are allergic to any substances.
• Imaging tests - Before the actual angiography procedure, few blood tests, an electrocardiogram (ECG), an exercise test and a chest X-ray are carried out.
• Metal objects - Metallic objects like spectacles, jewelry, nose pins, dentures etc. are to be removed as that may interfere with the images that are to be captured of cardiac structures.

The coronary angiography is ordered if you experience angina, pain in chest and other such symptoms. The procedure carries few advantages which is why it is preferred by cardiologists for understanding heart health of patients.

• Surgery - One of the prime advantages it has is that it could erase possibility of angioplasty or bypass if blockages are detected early.
• Extent of atherosclerosis - This procedure helps the doctor in identifying the intensity and progression of the atherosclerosis in heart and coronary arteries .
• Line of treatment - It helps the cardiologist determine if surgery is required or blockages could be treated with the help of medication only.
• Precision - This cardiac test is believed to be the only parameter that helps the cardiologist in mapping the severity of blockages developed in arteries in the heart.
• Detailed information - This test is known to offer detailed information of images of the blood vessels in the heart which is useful; especially when a major surgery is being planned for the patient.