angioplasty

American  

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

noun

Surgery.

plural

angioplasties

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Discover More

Also called balloon therapy.

Etymology

Origin of angioplasty

angio- + -plasty

Example Sentences

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

Typical treatments may include balloon angioplasty, the placement of stents or the removal of plaque with a bladed catheter, also known as an atherectomy.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2023

He knew how long it took for advances in cardiac care, like angioplasty and stenting, to spread across the world, and he didn’t want to see that trend repeated.

From New York Times • Mar. 1, 2023

Within minutes, Miele was on a table in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, awaiting angioplasty to unclog his artery—a procedure that many cardiologists say has become the gold standard in heart attack treatment.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times