Angiography:

Angiography is a semi-invasive procedure for blood vessels imaging, including blood vessels for heart, cerebral vessels, kidney vessels, and even the arteries of the lower and upper limbs.

In angiography after injecting medical contrast agent (medical contrast agent is a substance that is used to increase the contrast of fluids and structures in medical imaging) and angiography also can be used to diagnose the pathology of intravascular space.

At first in angiography, a catheter is inserted into intravascular space through the large vessels of groin or upper limb and guided to the origin of interested vessels then the contrast agent is injected into the beginning of the vessel that is under study and finally the radiographic imaging is performed.

The patient is alert during angiography and may be asked to take deep breathe, hold his or her breath, cough or change the position of his or her hand.

Angiography care:

Before angiography:

• Take a shower the day before angiography and clean excess groin hair.
• Avoid eating food in the morning of a day that you want to do angiography.
• Continue to take medication under a doctor’s supervision.

After angiography:

• Rest in bed for at least 5-6 hours after angiography
• Do not bend the limb used for angiography (hip and wrist joint) for 12 hours after angiography
• Walk slowly after discharging
• It is recommended to avoid sudden and intense activities for a few days after angiography
• If there is pain and swelling at the angiography site, he or she can use painkillers. Using hot compresses are not forbidden.
• See your doctor if you have severe pain and swelling.
• Receive the CD and results from the angiography department and have it with you in the next visits.