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• Balloon angioplasty: During this procedure, a specially designed catheter with a small balloon tip is guided to the point of narrowing in the artery. The balloon is inflated to compress the blockage or plaque into the artery wall and stretch the artery open to increase blood flow to the myocardium.
• Cutting balloon or laser: The cutting balloon catheter has a special balloon tip with small blades or laser tip to reduce the plaque or occlusive clot form the arterial lumen.
• Stent: A stent is a small metal mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to provide support inside your coronary artery. A balloon catheter is placed over a guide wire and then inserted into the narrowed coronary artery. Once in place, the balloon tip is inflated and the stent expands to the size of the artery. The elasticity of the intima and the stretched wire then mesh and hold the arterial wall open. The balloon is deflated and removed while the stent stays in place permanently. Some stents contain medicine, such as drug-eluting stents, and are designed to reduce the risk of re-blockage or restenosis.
• Atherectomy: The catheter used in this procedure has a hollow cylinder on the tip with an open window on one side and a balloon on the other. When the balloon is inflated, it pushes against the fatty matter. A blade (cutter) within the cylinder rotates and shaves off any fat that protrudes into the window. The shavings are caught in a chamber within the catheter and removed. This process is repeated as needed to allow for better blood flow.