Computed tomograph of pulmonary vessels. Pulmonary emboli can be classified according to level along the arterial tree. BPA is performed by specialists in a catheterization laboratory. Each procedure takes between two and four hours and most people undergo up to six treatments with the first two sessions being performed a fortnight apart and subsequent treatments being individually tailored upon follow-up assessment. A local anesthetic and moderate sedation are used but a general anaesthetic is not required, hence the person remains awake throughout the procedure. After inserting the catheter into the vein of the neck (right internal jugular vein) or groin (right femoral vein), a hollow tube is introduced through the catheter and passed to the affected blocked lung arteries. X-rays and pressures in the narrowed arteries are assessed by the specialist team before a thin wire with a deflated<unk>  is guided through the blood vessels to the site of blockage, where the<unk>  is then inflated. This mainly disrupts the organised thrombus and to a lesser degree presses it against the walls of the arteries. This increases the size of the lumen of the arteries, thus opening them and allowing the blood flow to be restored. The<unk>  is then deflated and removed. A number of arteries can be treated during each BPA procedure.
Balloon pulmonary angioplasty
Pulmonary tractotomy
Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation
Bronchial artery embolization
Pulmonary artery banding
Targeted lung denervation
Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy
Arteriotomy