Alternate Names: Angiogram; Angiography

How Performed: The study is carried out in a special laboratory by a trained cardiologist or radiologist and technicians or nurses. A catheter is progressed under fluoroscopy from a vessel in the arm, neck, or groin to the desired point in the body. Then, dye is injected into the vessel(s) of interest and several fluoroscopic projections are examined and stored on film for further analysis.

How To Prepare: See cardiac catheterization.

Why Performed: Non-invasive techniques are often preferred for the initial diagnostic evaluation of vessel obstruction. These tests include Doppler, radionuclide imaging, and MRA (magnetic resonance angiography).

After initial diagnosis and characterization of vessel obstruction, angiography can be a pre-intervention test that provides an anatomic and pathologic "map" to the operator.