Angio Exam

Once you register and are taken to a nursing unit, a qualified staff member will perform an exam and ask for a brief medical history. You will receive an intravenous (IV) line to administer fluids and medication during the procedure.

A staff member will bring you to the angiography suite, where you will meet the team of specially trained and certified radiology technologists and nurses.

During the exam, you will lie on your back on the procedure table, where we will clip and wash the necessary areas—usually the groin—with an antiseptic solution.

You will then be covered with a sterile drape. Staff will monitor your heart rhythm and vital signs throughout the procedure.

Once you are prepared for the procedure, your physician will numb your skin with a local anesthetic. The physician will then place a needle in the artery, and position a thin wire and catheter.

You will not feel the wires or catheters, and should feel only pressure where the needle was placed. Contrast dye will be injected into the vessels, which may produce a brief, warm sensation.

You will be asked to intermittently hold your breath as a series of images are taken. The X-ray equipment and table will be re-positioned in order to capture different views.