angioplasty

American  

[an-jee-uh-plas-tee] / ˈæn dʒi əˌplæs ti /

noun

Surgery.

angioplasties plural

1. the repair of a blood vessel, as by inserting a balloon-tipped catheter to unclog it or by replacing part of the vessel with either a piece of the patient's own tissue or a prosthetic device.

   coronary angioplasty to widen an artery blocked by plaque.

---

angioplasty British  

/ ˈændʒɪəˌplæstɪ /

noun

1. a surgical technique for restoring normal blood flow through an artery narrowed or blocked by atherosclerosis, either by inserting a balloon into the narrowed section and inflating it or by using a laser beam

---

angioplasty Scientific  

/ ăn′jē-ə-plăs′tē /

1. The surgical repair of a blood vessel, such as an obstructed coronary artery, usually by inflating a small balloon at the end of a catheter.

---

angioplasty Cultural  

1. A surgical technique in which a catheter containing a small balloon is inserted into arteries around the heart. The balloon is inflated to compress deposits of fatty substances blocking the artery, thereby restoring the flow of blood.

---

Discover More

Also called balloon therapy.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• angioplasties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of angioplasty

angio- + -plasty

Example Sentences

There’s no way my dad and my mom paid enough into Medicare to cover my dad’s six months in long-term critical care, multiple angioplasty procedures and stroke.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

That challenge pushed the researchers toward a different idea: a biomaterial that could be infused into a blood vessel in the heart during procedures such as angioplasty or stenting, or delivered through an IV.

From Science Daily • May 5, 2026

Cardiologists use them to help patients shed weight before procedures such as angioplasty, orthopaedic surgeons to ease stress on joints before knee surgery, and chest physicians to treat conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

And drugmakers and surgeons haven’t developed as many new blockbuster treatments recently — there has been no new Prozac or angioplasty to drive up spending.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 5, 2023

Again, the emergency medical technician offered a choice of two nearby hospitals—neither of which had state permission to do angioplasty, the procedure Jean Miele received.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times