Monitoring devices will be used to watch your blood pressure and your heart rhythm throughout the procedure. An area of your groin or upper arm will be shaved, cleaned with sterile liquid, and covered with sterile drapes to help prevent infection. After local anesthesia is applied to the entry site, a very small tube called a catheter is inserted into the artery. While viewing the x-ray picture on a TV monitor, the radiologist guides the catheter to the area to be studied. The x-ray dye is then injected into the artery through the catheter so that the blood vessels can be clearly seen on the monitor.
Some patients find it interesting to view the procedure on the screen.
The next step is to take x-ray pictures of the areas of interest. This minimizes movement and insures the highest quality images. The catheter may then be moved to other sites and the process repeated so that all vessels of importance can be fully examined. Several injections of the contrast media through the catheter may be necessary. Each time the contrast is injected you may experience a sensation of heat.