Once the catheter is placed in the opening, or ostium, of one of the coronary arteries, the doctor injects dye and takes a series of x-rays of the artery. Areas of narrowing or blockage in the coronary artery can be seen on the x-rays.
Reviewed last on: 4/17/2008
Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.