Your angiogram will be performed at a hospital as a day case (this means you arrive and leave on the same day). You will be admitted to hospital approximately 2 hours before your procedure is due. A nurse will prepare you for the procedure. The procedure is performed in an X-ray room and can take anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour. You will be awake and lying completely flat. Your blood pressure and ECG will be monitored continuously during the test.
The test is performed through an artery at the top of the leg or in the arm. You will receive an injection of local anaesthetic over the artery to numb the area, so it should not be too painful. Once numb, a fine plastic tube (catheter) will be inserted into the artery and passed through to the heart. The catheter is moved through your blood vessels into the correct position in the heart. In order to see the blood flow in the arteries, a special X-ray dye is used that is injected through the catheter into heart. A series of pictures are taken. You will be able to watch the procedure on the TV screens if you wish.