This surgical procedure is particularly helpful for people with atherosclerosis or coronary heart disease. Angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure used to widen narrowed or blocked arteries.

For the treatment of myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation, primary angioplasty is considered superior to fibrinolysis for patients who are admitted to hospitals with angioplasty facilities.

As compared with thrombolytic therapy, primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in acute myocardial infarction reduces the rates of death, reinfarction, and stroke, but recurrent ...