| FACTS
ABOUT BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY or PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTIONS
(PCI)
BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY
(PTCA or Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty)
The method by which a small balloon tipped catheter is placed over
a guide wire into the narrow segment of the coronary artery. The
b alloon
is then inflated several times, compressing the fatty material (plaque)
against the wall of the artery. This opens the narrowed section
increasing blood flow to the heart muscle. 
STENT IMPLANTATION
The method by which a small metal slotted or coil tube is placed
against the artery wall to hold the artery open. Balloon angioplasty
is done before the stent is placed. The stent is a permanent implant
that stays in the artery and helps keep most arteries open better
than balloon angioplasty alone. Dr. Stratienko trained with the
inventor of the stent, Dr. Richard Schatz, in La Jolla, CA in 1990
and introduced stent technology to the Chattanooga area, performing
the first coronary stent procedure here in 1993.
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