Pulmonary Angiography

Pulmonary angiography is an X-ray procedure that looks at the blood vessels leading to and from your lungs. The X-rays produced are called pulmonary angiograms, which may show blood clots in and around your lungs called pulmonary embolisms.

Uses of Pulmonary Angiography #

Your doctor may order the procedure if you’re showing common symptoms of a blood clot, including:

• Chest pain

• High blood pressure specific to areas around the lungs and heart

• A history of other blood clots or deep vein thrombosis

Pulmonary angiography can help identify several other conditions in the lung region, including:

• Aneurysms, when there are bulges in your blood vessels

• Abnormal connections between your blood vessels, such as between arteries and veins

• Birth conditions that affected the development of your blood vessels

• Stenosis, when the openings in your blood vessels have narrowed

• Pulmonary angiography can also monitor blood flow into the lungs.

Procedure of Pulmonary Angiography #

Before the pulmonary angiography, be sure to tell your doctor if:

• You’re pregnant

• Have any known allergies

• Have a history of allergic reactions

• Your doctor will have specific instructions about whether or not you need to stop eating or drinking for a few hours before the procedure.

• Your doctor may also order a blood test to check the amount of time your blood takes to clot.

The procedure follows these steps:

• You may need to put on a hospital gown, so wear loose, comfortable clothing.

• You’ll need to remove all metal objects, including jewelry.

• A thin, intravenous (IV) line is inserted into your arm, and devices to monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing are attached to your chest.

• This is so your doctors can track these vital signs throughout the procedure.

• You lie on your back, and a catheter a flexible tube is inserted into either your arm or groin.

• It is moved through your vein to the right side of your heart.

• A contrast dye is inserted into your veins with the IV.

• X-ray pictures are taken until there are enough high-quality images.

• This could involve a second round of dye injection and X-ray imaging.

• The catheter and IV are removed and the openings covered.

• You’ll need to recover by lying flat for up to two hours while your doctors monitor your vital signs.

• This can be an outpatient surgery for some people, so you’ll be able to leave later on the same day.

• Sometimes, though, your doctor will want to keep you overnight for observation.‌

Risks of Pulmonary Angiography #

There are few risks associated with pulmonary angiography. They include:

• Radiation exposure. All X-rays expose your tissues to radiation, which increases your risk of developing cancer later in your life.

• Allergic reactions to the dye.

• Infection. You run a risk of infection at the sites of all of the surgical openings.