If medication can't adequately control angina, more invasive techniques may be recommended. In balloon angioplasty, a balloon-tipped catheter is fed through the circulatory system to the area of blockage. Here, the balloon is inflated. As it expands, the balloon compresses plaque and opens up the narrowed artery. Another option is coronary artery bypass, a surgical procedure where doctors take a section of blood vessel from elsewhere in the body and sew it at points above and below the blockage.
Blood flows through the donor vessel, around the point of blockage in the diseased artery.
A series of inflatable cuffs are placed around the patient's calves, thighs, and buttocks. The patient is also hooked up to an EKG machine. Using the information from the EKG, a computer signals the cuffs to inflate sequentially when the heart relaxes, forcing blood from the legs back to the heart. The cuffs deflate when the heart beats. Patients receive the treatment for one hour a day for 35 days.