catheterizations

Posted By Lourdes on July 19, 1998 at 11:40:39:







I read recently that in order for blockages to form in the coronary arteries, there must be some kind of damage to the lining of the artery. My question is, could a cardiac catheterization cause damage to the lining of the artery in which the catheter is inserted therefore causing a future blockage? I'm talking about just a clean catheterization (without an angioplasty) I'm really concerned because I had a cath. without angioplasty and then later read that one of the risks is damage or bruising to the artery in which the catheter is inserted. I'm afraid I will now have a future artery blockage if my artery was bruised. I'm a petite woman and my guess is my arteries are very small. Could I get a future blockage from having the catheterization?