Angiography, << `an` jee OG ruh fee, >> is a technique that makes blood vessels visible using X rays. The X-ray picture that is produced is called an angiogram. Angiography is usually performed on arteries or veins connected with such structures as the brain, heart, kidneys, or legs.
Physicians use angiography to determine whether a narrowing of a blood vessel is being caused by a clot or by deposits of such substances as cholesterol and calcium. Such deposits are called plaques. Physicians also use angiography to decide what therapy they should recommend. For example, coronary angiography is often performed on patients whose coronary arteries have narrowed. This procedure can help a physician determine whether medication, surgery, or such techniques as angioplasty would be the best way to treat the condition (see Angioplasty).
During a typical angiographic procedure, a catheter (long tube) is passed through the skin and inserted into a vein or artery, usually in an arm or leg. The catheter is advanced to the structure being evaluated, and special contrast material, often containing iodine, is injected into the area. This material makes the area being examined stand out from its background when an X ray is taken.
