Angiogram is a visualization of your heart with a camera inserted through your arm vein
I just had an angiogram.
48 hours before stop ALL blood thinner drugs.
After midnight the day before the operation - eat nothing and after midnight only drink water.
All heart pills are OK to take and you are expected to take your meds on the day of the operation
except blood thinners.
The intent was to find any blockages in my heart and remove any blockages in my heart muscle.
Blockages are found with a camera on a long wire thru your veins and are removed
with a laser at the end of the probing wire or a cutter and replaced with a stent.
A stent is rigid wire capsule which is expanded against the plaque to open the vein.
How long does an angiogram take?
5 to 6 hours start to finish?
The whole procedure can have a waiting period of two hours.
The procedure can take from 20 minutes to an hour or so depending if blockages need addressed
or a stent placed.
There is a prep period of 1 to two hours.
There is a recovery time of at least two hours.
What exactly happens:
In my case I was checked into a cardio / surgery unit. at a hospital.
There was a large TV screen in the surgery unit with names and operating room numbers on it and a status like waiting on procedure, which shows
procedure happening or completed and in waiting room for the patients to see where they
are in the list and how much longer they might have to wait before admit to the cardio unit.
After talking to a few nice patients and waiting 1/2 hour I was called into the cardio unit.
Inside the cardio unit you are taken to a little room with curtained off sections which are numbered in a large room.
Many questions are asked to make sure you obeyed the prep instructions and to minimize risk.
If you pass all the questions you are told to remove all your clothes and get into a hospital gown.
For this cart. or angiogram procedure I needed two IV's.
One in my left arm. One in my right arm.
They were going to put in a third IV but did not - this was left to the cardio doctor to perform.
The third ingress into your hand near your wrist joint is the artery which is used for traversal to your heart.
From this access point at your wrist both sides of the heart can be checked and scoped.
I asked for a little drug to be used to calm me down.
But upon arrival i just knew this had to happen and just resigned to it.
I had prayed to God to watch over me and asked God to accept me via the death of his Son Jesus in case I died and save me.
Finally it was time to be wheeled into the Operating Room.
The OR was not one of those with HUGE lights on the ceiling.
Rather there was a large TV monitor - maybe a 50" monitor at standing eye level and an Xray machine near by.
During the procedure the cardio doc will watch the large monitor to look for blockages as the camera at the end of the wire probe will show the area of the heart which the probe has reached.
During this time dye or contrast will be injected.
And a flat OR table. I rolled over to the operating table which is QUITE THIN for access to your arms.
and I was told it was quite thin.
The excellent nurses had a lot of issues finding decent veins which were productive on my right hand for the extra IV. They finally found productive veins.
But soon I did not care - the nurse had started the IV solution for conscious sedation.
I did not really feel any different.
And I could hear rock music playing as they worked and people were talking but it was
very relaxed almost like they were on a break.
Maybe I heard 4 songs go by? It was 1970's music.
I actually could process thoughts and made a comment to the conversation and they said
the patient said...
and then as nothing had really changed I was done.
I do not recall the large tube getting pulled out of my arm or going in or anything.
Just done.
Soon I was scooting over to the mobile bed to the recovery room in the cath unit.
The recovery room had a curtain and others were there nearby. but it was private with a curtain and I even had a TV.
So the hole in your upper hand and wrist is serious enoough that a pressure bandage is applied
with compressed air added to the bandage.
The bandage goes around your wrist and has a good grip and to make sure the wound or hole where the artery was accessed will not bleed this rubber bandage is filled with air.
Every 1/2 hour a little air is removed.
After about two hours this high tech air bandage is removed and replaced with cotton over the wound and a very large bandage to hold the cotton is put over the wrist. This is visible in the video.
And you are discharged with instructions to remove the bandage on the wrist 24 hours later.
I just removed it from my wrist and all looks OK.
BUT NO showers or baths allowed.
They were saying I could take a shower a day after or so but I will wait a few days.
And due to my condition I felt and feel sick still - due to contrast dye? or taking too many pills?
Stomach in rough shape. But you get used to things and you move on.
Be Thankful you are alive.
Watch video Angiogram is a visualization of your heart with a camera inserted through your arm vein online without registration, duration hours minute second in high quality. This video was added by user moviestudioland 12 May 2023, don't forget to share it with your friends and acquaintances, it has been viewed on our site 57 once and liked it 1 people.