Also known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), angioplasty, is a procedure used to open coronary arteries (blood vessels supplying the heart) that are narrowed, clogged, or blocked due to atherosclerosis (fatty plaque formation).  Angioplasty is performed to reduce chest pain caused by restricted blood flow and reduce damage to the heart from a heart attack. The procedure includes passing a balloon catheter (a thin flexible tube that has a tiny balloon attached at the end) that is image-guided into the affected artery through the blood vessel in the arm, wrist, or groin. The balloon is inflated to widen the artery and restores blood supply to the heart. Angioplasty is often combined with stenting. 

Stenting is a surgical procedure used to place a small, self-expanding, wire mesh tube made of either plastic or metal inside a coronary artery post angioplasty procedure.  After placing the stent in place, the balloon catheter is removed. A stent prevents the coronary artery from closing / blocking up again. There are different types of stents used in the angioplasty procedure, including:

• A drug-eluting stent which has medicine embedded in it that gets released gradually to prevent the coronary artery from closing again for a long period.
• Bare-metal stents are made up of a metal and have no special drug coating. The stent is held in place by the tissue growing around it. 

Angioplasty procedures performed in Delhi at Manipal Hospitals have skilled specialists who together ensure quality care.