Angiography
Angiography is an imaging modality that utilises the technology of digital fluoroscopy and additional equipment and computer systems to image the blood vessels (arteries and veins) of the human body. The images produced serve a diagnostic purpose; that is, diagnosing a pathology or condition. Also, treatment or therapeutic cases can be performed such as stenting (inserting a device into a blood vessel in order to keep it open and allow blood to flow through) or infusion of thrombolytic agents (administering a medication such as Urokinase to help breakdown a recently formed thrombus or blood clot).
The procedures are performed under sterile conditions and require that the patient be fasted (no food prior to procedure) and the radiologist (the specialist medical practitioner who performs the invasive procedure and subsequently interprets the images) be "gowned" as in an operating theatre.
Angiography may be performed to assess the blood supply to the legs (femoral angiogram), kidneys (renal angiogram), liver (hepatic angiogram), and aorta (aortic angiogram). Angiography of the blood vessels supplying the heart is known as coronary angiography and is performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory.
Venography is performed to image the veins in the body. Venography may be performed to assess the leg or arm veins and the inferior vena cava, for example.
How long does the procedure take?
Angiography generally takes at least 1 hour, depending on the complexity of the examination.
Preparation
This will depend on the procedure being performed. Please contact medical imaging for further information.
What about the radiation?
Refer to questions on radiation in FAQ