Angiography

Angiography is the study of blood vessels in our body. Blood is pumped by the heart which is carried to all organs of our body by vessels called the arteries and the veins. Blood vessels can get blocked preventing adequate blood supply to the affected organ. The blood vessels can also develop aneurysms which can rupture and cause massive bleeding inside the body with dangerous outcomes. Angiography can be done either on a cathlab which is an invasive procedure or can be done non-invasively on CT Scan or MRI. In CT Angiography the patient is administered non-ionic contrast through a pressure injector and very fast scanning of the area of interest is done. The CT Scan will give thousands of images of the blood vessels and the radiologists will study these images to look for any kind of blockage in the arteries or the presence of an aneurysm. The studies which are normally done on CT Angiography are Cerebral Angiography, Pulmonary Angiography, Coronary Angiography, Neck Vessels Angiography, Peripheral Angiography, Abdominal Angiography, Renal Angiography etc.

How CT Angio is Done

For CT Angiography patient has to be in fasting for atleast 5-6 hours. Normally the appointment is given in the morning so that patient can come in overnight fasting. On arrival of the patient at the centre, we would first do a blood test to see the kidney functioning. If the kidney function test is normal then contrast can be given to the patient. For patients with abnormal kidney function, non-contrast MRI is preferred over non-contrast CT Scan. Do not wear any jewellery when you come for the testing. You would be given a hospital gown to wear before the test. The patient has to lie down on the CT Table and the technician would place a canula on the arm or back of the hand. During the examination, contrast is injected through a pressure injector which is connected to the canula. The scanning is finished in less than a minute to prevent contrast contamination into the veins. Good quality angiography means that the images are showing not only the primary arteries but also the smaller branches. The results of CT Angiography are comparable to Cath Angiography without doing any invasive procedure. The patient can go home within minutes of the completion of the test. Radiologists would need 6-8 hours for studying the images procured during the test to prepare the report. The films or the CD can be taken immediately after the test while the report is emailed to you within 24 hours.

Cost of the Test

CT Angiography can be done on a CT Scan machine which is atleast 4 Slices. However good quality angiography requires a 16 Slice CT Scanner. The centre should also be equipped with a pressure injector to perform angiography test. However Coronary Angiography can be done only on a machine which is atleast 64 Slices. Best results for Coronary Angiography are achieved on either a 128 Slice or 256 Slice CT Scanner. The cost of CT Angiography ranges between Rs. 11,000 - 18,000 for different body parts. The cost of blood test before CT Angiography would be in the range of Rs. 250 - 750. All our diagnostic centres have CT Scanners which are 16 Slice or more and therefore capable of doing CT Angiography Test in Bhiwadi. A good CT Scan machine of 50 slices would cost in the range of Rs. 1.5 - 2.0 Crores. Another high cost is the cost of tube which ranges between Rs. 35- 50 lacs and lasts for 3-4 years. The contrast given during the exam is also a very costly consumable. In CT Angiography the cost of the contrast administered is in the range of Rs. 3000 - 4000. We have some of the finest radiologists who are highly trained in CT and MRI reporting.

Bharat Diagnostics, Bhiwadi

Bharat Diagnostics, Nuh

Bharat Diagnostics, Manesar