COVID-19 Updates: Keeping You Safe + Updated Visitor Policy
Middlesex Health is taking careful steps to begin allowing visitors for some of our patients. // CURRENT VISITOR POLICY
Middlesex Health is open and providing patient care, in person and through Virtual Visits. We have also resumed performing elective procedures.
See how we're going above and beyond to keep you safe. // HERE FOR YOU
All surgical patients will be tested for COVID-19 prior to their procedure. // LEARN MORE
We are asking that all patients who come to our facilities for an appointment wear a face mask. // MAKE A MASK AT HOME
We will continue to provide up-to-date information about COVID-19 and how it is impacting Middlesex Health, as well as resources to help you stay safe. // ALL COVID-19 INFORMATION
Percutaneous coronary intervention, also known as coronary angioplasty, opens narrowed coronary arteries.
In this procedure, doctors insert a long, thin tube called a catheter in an artery in the groin or wrist and thread it to the affected artery using X-ray imaging. Doctors then inject a small amount of dye through the catheter to the artery to help them see any blockages or narrowing on X-ray images. A catheter with a balloon on the tip is then inserted through the first catheter and guided to the heart.
When the catheter reaches the narrowed or blocked area of the artery in the heart, doctors inflate the balloon to reopen the artery and improve blood flow. The balloon is then deflated and removed.
In most cases, doctors then insert another catheter with a mesh tube attached called a stent. The stent is then placed in the narrowed area of the artery to prevent re-narrowing after the artery is widened. Doctors then remove the catheter.
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