As with all surgery, coronary angioplasty carries a risk of complications. Several factors increase your risk of experiencing these complications.
Who's at risk?
Factors that increase your chance of having complications include:
- Your age – the older you are, the higher the risk. For example, a 60-year-old man with no other risk factors has a less than 1% risk of developing complications, while an 80-year-old has a 3% risk.
- Whether the surgery was planned for angina or emergency treatment after a heart attack – emergency surgery is always riskier because there is less time to plan it.
- Whether you have kidney disease – the intravenous dye used during an angioplasty can occasionally cause further damage to your kidneys.
- Whether more than one coronary artery has become blocked – this is known as multi-vessel disease.
- Whether you have a history of serious heart disease – this could include heart failure.
Your cardiology team can give you more information about your individual circumstances and level of risk.
Complications
Complications that can occur after an angioplasty include:
- a heart attack, which is estimated to occur in 1 in 100 cases
- a stroke, which is estimated to occur in 1 in 200 cases
- excessive bleeding after the operation, which is estimated to occur in 1 in 200 cases and requires a blood transfusion
- death, which is estimated to occur in 1 in 500 cases
