They aren’t without risk.
There are very few things without risk - sonograms and EKG’s don’t have any real risk as far as I know ( maybe an allergy to the gel/adhesive) . But nobody gets an angiogram to confirm they are fine - they get an angiogram because it looks like something isn’t fine and while it might turn out in the end that there aren’t any problems that’s not the same as “confirming you are fine”.
The last time I had an angiogram was after I had a mild heart attack * and my choices basically were
- have an angiogram
- Have a stress test which might result in an angiogram anyway.
I just went ahead with the angiogram since I suspected I would end up with one after the stress test anyway. And I would have, because it turned out I had scar tissue in a stent that was causing a blockage.
* And it was just because of a bizarre coincidence that I even went to the hospital - my heart started beeping rapidly shortly before I was going to leave for a colonoscopy appointment. When I called , the gastroenterologist told me to go either an urgent care or the ER. On the way to the ER, my heart slowed down and I felt better- better enough that if I hadn’t had to call about the colonoscopy, I might not have gone to the ER at all.
That must have been
(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
alarming.
I had a stent put in one of my cardiac arteries in 2015.I had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and an echocardiogram showed blockage. The echo procedure is non-invasive; you lie on a table as a tech moves a sonic reader around on your chest and back. It gives 'em a real time recording of the heart, its blood vessels, what’s working, and how well.
For a stent, usually (under anesthesia) they’ll open a blood vessel in your thigh and thread the device up to your heart, expand the stent with a wee balloon, and leave it there. In my case, because I’m tall and the apparatus wasn’t long enough to reach from my thigh, they had to go in through my groin.
The whole thing was nearly painless, and it was a short hospital stay.
Heart stents. Pffft. I had one put in my brain! Stroke-like symptoms and a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage led to the finding that an important artery was 80% blocked. During angioplasty the blockage became complete and a stent was inserted at the site. I’m 100% recovered with no lingering effects or limitations. This was about five years ago. The angiograms before and after weren’t very pleasant, at least the recovery part. The actual procedures I don’t remember. Also, not being able to move your arm when feeling absolutely fine is a scary experience.
The technology and skill that allows docs to accurately send a wire, balloon and stent deep into your brain by way your groin is amazing. According to the APN who was present for the procedure, the doc told him that the complete occlusion knocked five minutes off of his life. Things were a bit tense for a short while.