Physicians can turn to a range of surgical options for treating coronary artery disease. In angioplasty, the physician inserts a tube or catheter into a superficial artery, often in the arm or thigh. The physician threads that tube through the vascular system into the arteries of the heart. Once the tube reaches the strategic area where the blockage exists, the physician expands a balloon at the end of the tube, pushing open the vessel and improving the blood flow.

	Using cardiac catetherization techniques, physicians release a stent, or mesh framework, to prop open a clogged artery.

Alternatively, the physician may use the same approach to place a stent, or mesh tube, within the vessel. The stent pushes open the blockage and remains within the artery permanently—increasing the probability that the artery will stay open. A stent angioplasty may also involve some element of radiation to inhibit the regrowth of tissue in that strategic area, or a drug coating may be added to the bare metal stent. Technology continues to evolve and dissolvable, biodegradable stents are now being considered. Atherectomy, the so-called Roto-Rooter operation, involves a drill-type device attached to the end of the catheter. This device physically bores out the arterial plaque, creating a wider opening in the vessel. The removed plaque is collected and withdrawn through the tube.

While these techniques can help restore blood flow to a specific area of the heart, they are not applicable to the arterial system as a whole. Medications and lifestyle changes remain the mainstay of decreasing the overall long-term arterial risk to patients, since they benefit  every artery in the body.