Professional
Technical
In the Industry Vocabulary Test
PTCA
Pronunciation: P-T-C-A
Also written as: PTCA — Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty
Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, a catheter-based procedure to open blocked coronary arteries.
Full Definition
A minimally invasive cardiac intervention that uses balloon catheters to compress atherosclerotic plaque against arterial walls, restoring blood flow to coronary vessels. PTCA was the predecessor to modern percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and is now commonly performed with adjunctive stent placement. The procedure involves threading a deflated balloon catheter to the site of coronary stenosis and inflating it to compress the obstructing material.
Usage
Usage note: Spell out on first reference in patient-facing documents.
In Context
- "The patient underwent successful PTCA of the left anterior descending artery." — Discharge summary
- "PTCA with stent placement achieved TIMI 3 flow in the target vessel." — Procedure report
Also known as
balloon angioplasty
coronary angioplasty
Don't confuse with
PTA
PCI
CABG