File:HWI PTCA.Coronary angiography and angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction (left: Right Coronary Artery RCA closed, right: successfully dilated)<unk>  is a branch of<unk>  that deals specifically with the catheter based treatment of structural heart diseases. Andreas Gruentzig is considered the father of<unk>  after the development of angioplasty by interventional radiologist Charles Dotter. Many procedures can be performed on the heart by catheterization. This most commonly involves the insertion of a sheath into the femoral artery (but, in practice, any large peripheral artery or vein) and cannulating the heart under X-ray visualization (most commonly fluoroscopy). The radial artery may also be used for cannulation; this approach offers several advantages, including the accessibility of the artery in most patients, the easy control of bleeding even in anticoagulated patients, the enhancement of comfort because patients are capable of sitting up and walking immediately following the procedure, and the near absence of clinically significant sequelae in patients with a normal Allen test. Downsides to this approach include spasm of the artery and pain, inability to use larger catheters needed in some procedures, and more radiation exposure. The main advantages of using the<unk>  or radiology approach are the avoidance of the scars and pain, and long post-operative recovery. Additionally,<unk>  procedure of primary angioplasty is now the gold standard of care for an acute myocardial infarction. It involves the extraction of clots from occluded coronary arteries and deployment of stents and balloons through a small hole made in a major artery, which has given it the name "pin-hole surgery" (as opposed to "key-hole surgery").
Interventional cardiology
Interventional pulmonology
Interventional radiology
Cardiothoracic surgery
Interventional neuroradiology
Interventional oncology
Interventional Neuroradiology
Intensive care medicine