What is the difference between catheter and stent

Most people who have angioplasty and stent placement are monitored overnight in the hospital. You will be asked to remove any jewelry or other objects that may interfere with the procedure. You may wear your dentures or hearing aid if you use either of these. If there is a lot of hair at the area of the catheter insertion often the groin area , the hair may be shaved off.

An IV intravenous line will be started in your hand or arm before the procedure. It will be used for injection of medicine and to give IV fluids, if needed.

You will be connected to an electrocardiogram ECG monitor that records the electrical activity of your heart and monitors your heart rate using electrodes that stick to your skin. Your vital signs heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and oxygen level will be monitored during the procedure.

There will be several monitor screens in the room, showing your vital signs, the images of the catheter being moved through your body into your heart, and the structures of your heart as the dye is injected.

You will get a sedative in your IV to help you relax. However, you will likely stay awake during the procedure. Your pulses below the catheter insertion site will be checked and marked so that the circulation to the limb below the site can easily be checked during and after the procedure.

Local anesthesia will be injected into the skin at the insertion site. This may be in your leg, arm, or wrist. You may feel some stinging at the site for a few seconds after the local anesthetic is injected.

Once the local anesthesia has taken effect, a sheath, or introducer, will be put into the blood vessel often at the groin. This is a plastic tube through which the catheter will be threaded into the blood vessel and advanced into the heart.

The catheter will be threaded through the sheath into the blood vessel. The doctor will advance the catheter through the aorta into the heart. Fluoroscopy will be used to help see the catheter advance into the heart. The catheter will be threaded into the coronary arteries. Once the catheter is in place, contrast dye will be injected through the catheter into your coronary arteries in order to see the narrowed area s.

You may feel some effects when the contrast dye is injected into the IV line. These effects include a flushing sensation, a salty or metallic taste in the mouth, or a brief headache. These effects usually last only a few moments. Tell your doctor if you feel any breathing trouble, sweating, numbness, itching, nausea or vomiting, chills, or heart palpitations.

After the contrast dye is injected, a series of rapid X-ray images of the heart and coronary arteries will be taken. You may be asked to take in a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds during this time.

When the doctor locates the narrowed artery, the catheter will be advanced to that location and the balloon will be inflated to open the artery. You may have some chest pain or discomfort at this point because the blood flow is temporarily blocked by the inflated balloon.

Any chest discomfort or pain should go away when the balloon is deflated. However, if you notice any continued discomfort or pain, such as chest pain, neck or jaw pain, back pain, arm pain, shortness of breath, or breathing trouble, tell your doctor right away.

The doctor may inflate and deflate the balloon several times. The decision may be made at this point to put in a stent to keep the artery open. In some cases, the stent may be put into the artery before the balloon is inflated.

Then the inflation of the balloon will open the artery and fully expand the stent. The doctor will take measurements, pictures, or angiograms after the artery has been opened. Once it has been determined that the artery is opened sufficiently, the catheter will be removed. The sheath or introducer is taken out and the insertion site may be closed with a closure device that uses collagen to seal the opening in the artery, by the use of sutures, or by applying manual pressure over the area to keep the blood vessel from bleeding.

Your doctor will decide which method is best for you. This procedure is used to open a narrowed artery in or near the heart. The catheter can be inserted in either the wrist or groin for this procedure. The catheter is guided to the narrowed artery.

Then, a smaller balloon catheter is inserted through the flexible catheter and inflated at the narrowed area to open it. Often, the doctor will also place a mesh coil called a stent at the narrowed part to help keep the artery open. If you're awake during a cardiac catherization procedure, you may be asked to take deep breaths, hold your breath, cough or place your arms in various positions throughout the procedure.

The table may be tilted at times, but you'll have a safety strap on to keep you on the table. Threading the catheter shouldn't be painful, and you shouldn't feel it moving through your body.

Tell your doctor or nurse if you have any discomfort. You'll likely spend several hours in a recovery room after the procedure while the sedation wears off. After you leave the recovery room, you'll usually be moved to a regular hospital or outpatient room. After your catheter is removed, a technician or nurse will apply pressure to the insertion sites. If the catheter was placed in the groin area, you may need to lie flat for several hours after the procedure to avoid serious bleeding and to allow the artery to heal.

How long you need to stay in the hospital depends on your overall health and the reason for the catheterization. The area where the catheter was inserted may feel sore for a few days.

Tell your doctor if you have any bleeding or new or increased swelling or pain at or near the access site. If cardiac catheterization was done to diagnose a heart condition, your doctor should explain the results to you. If your doctor finds a blockage during cardiac catheterization, he or she may treat the blockage with or without a stent placement right away so that you won't need to have another catheterization procedure. Your doctor should discuss whether this is a possibility before the procedure begins.

Explore Mayo Clinic studies of tests and procedures to help prevent, detect, treat or manage conditions. Cardiac catheterization care at Mayo Clinic. Angioplasty and vascular stenting for peripheral artery disease PAD affecting arteries in the pelvis and legs is less successful when multiple leg vessels are narrowed or when small vessels have to be opened.

Patients with PAD can benefit from quitting smoking, proper diet, regular exercise and controlling blood cholesterol. Carotid artery angioplasty and stenting is approved by the FDA. A dedicated filter device may be used during stenting to help keep blood clots and other plaques from passing into the brain. This helps lower the risk of stroke. Surgical repair has been done for many years. It has been proven effective and safe when done by skilled surgeons. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of carotid artery stenting.

American Stroke Association: www. National Stroke Association: www. Please type your comment or suggestion into the text box below. Note: we are unable to answer specific questions or offer individual medical advice or opinions. Please contact your physician with specific medical questions or for a referral to a radiologist or other physician. To locate a medical imaging or radiation oncology provider in your community, you can search the ACR-accredited facilities database. This website does not provide cost information.

The costs for specific medical imaging tests, treatments and procedures may vary by geographic region. Web page review process: This Web page is reviewed regularly by a physician with expertise in the medical area presented and is further reviewed by committees from the Radiological Society of North America RSNA and the American College of Radiology ACR , comprising physicians with expertise in several radiologic areas.

Outside links: For the convenience of our users, RadiologyInfo. Toggle navigation. What are Angioplasty and Vascular Stenting? What are some common uses of the procedures? How should I prepare? What does the equipment look like? How does the procedure work? How is the procedure performed?

What will I experience during and after the procedure? Who interprets the results and how do I get them? What are the benefits vs. What are the limitations of Angioplasty and Vascular Stenting? These conditions include: coronary artery disease, a narrowing of the arteries that carry blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. This is a build-up of cholesterol and other fatty deposits, called plaques, on the artery walls. Angioplasty and stenting may be used to help improve kidney function.

Fistulas and grafts are artificial blood vessel connections doctors use in kidney dialysis. Angioplasty is generally used when these connections become narrow or blocked.

Stenting may also be needed in some cases. Tell your doctor about recent illnesses or other medical conditions. You may need to stay overnight at the hospital. You will lie on the procedure table. The doctor will make a very small skin incision at the site. A sheath is first inserted into the blood vessel. When the procedure is done, you will be transferred to a recovery room or to a hospital room.

The doctor or nurse will remove your IV line before you go home. Talk to your doctor about how long the procedure will take. Your interventional radiologist may recommend a follow-up visit. Benefits Compared to bypass surgery, balloon angioplasty and stent placement are much less invasive and relatively low-risk, low-cost procedures.

These procedures are performed using local anesthesia. Because general anesthetic is not required in most patients, there is no extended stay in the hospital. No surgical incision is necessary—only a small nick in the skin that does not need stitches.

You will be able to return to your normal activities shortly afterwards. Risks Major complications after angioplasty are rare. However, inserting the catheter may injure the artery. There is also a very small risk of blood clots or tearing the artery. When angioplasty is done alone, blockages can recur. Most of these arteries can be opened again successfully.

This can also occur when a stent is placed in the artery at the time of the angioplasty. The procedure usually takes about 30 minutes to determine if there is a blockage and if a stent is necessary, another approximately 30 minutes. The majority of patients who undergo a diagnostic cardiac cath can return home the same day. However, if an angioplasty or stent was done then most patients stay in the hospital overnight.

The most common risk is bleeding that can also occur at the entry point.