Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as coronary angioplasty, is a nonsurgical technique for treating obstructive coronary artery disease, including unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction (MI), and multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) procedure that improves blood flow to your heart.
PCI requires cardiac catheterization, which is the insertion of a catheter tube and injection of contrast dye, usually iodine-based, into your coronary arteries.
The treatment is minimally invasive and relies on thin tubes called catheters. Doctors enter the body through an artery in the wrist or leg, and then thread catheters toward the heart.
They use contrast dye and X-rays to guide their work. This imaging procedure is called an angiogram and is a type of cardiac catheterization.