Angiogram. Any advice please? (poss sens)

I'm a radiographer and I do these regularly. If its just a diagnostic angiogram of a limb they are usually done as a day case/ overnight stay. The only thing that could be a worry is the puncture site in the groin, the patient will have to lie flat for a few hours after the procedure. Once that is fine though they should be up and about as normal.

Thanks WW. Would I be allowed to sit with her, or will I be in the waiting room? I know she's extremely nervous ?

I'm not surprised, but honestly its not that bad! During the procedure you will have to wait outside I'm afraid. She should have a nurse with her during though

My H had to undergo this procedure a couple of years ago. I attended the hospital with him and stayed for the whole day. He had the procedure fairly early in the morning and spent the rest of the day confined to bed. The nurses checked on him very regularly and he was gradually raised from a completely flat position to sitting upright before they would discharge him. The consultant also came to see us and explained what they had found during the procedure.

They kept him topped up with fluids and he had a light snack, a sandwich I think, late afternoon. We took a taxi home as I don't drive and I don't think I'd recommend public transport if you can avoid it as they are advised to avoid anything strenuous for a day or so afterwards.

I'm not a medical person or anything so this is just based on my personal experience of attending within him - I think he appreciated the company as it was a long day - and of course I wanted to be with him to see what the outcome was. Fortunately for us it was a relatively positive outcome.

Hope this was vaguely helpful! and hope all goes well with you and your mum.

WW, Ferret, thank you so much for your replies. That's really put my mind at rest.

Thank you xx

H had an angiogram a couple of years ago after a suspected heart attack. He had a team on standby in case he needed an angioplasty (which he didn't).

He was discharged about 1.5 hours after the procedure and told to take a few days off work. He had to stay fairly immobile for a couple of days to allow the wound in his leg to heal.

Apart from that, he was more or less normal as soon as he got home. In fact, I had a problem keeping him lying down as he's normally quite active and was raring to go almost immediately.

Hope it all goes well for your mum.

Michpuss, thank you for that. My Dad will be at home with her to make sure she rests and I'll be there as much as I can too. She's having the procedure on the friday, and planning to return to work on the Monday... does sound that about right? I'm trying to convince her to take Mon-Tues off as annual leave but she's adament....

Neither H or I can remember how much time he took off - I think he had the procedure on a Thursday and was off work until the following Tuesday or so. Your mum should ask and they will tell her when she can go back. The main issue is the entry point on the leg as it's a major artery. It's important that she rests until the wound heals.

My dad had one of these a few months ago prior to heart surgery, he found it very unnerving to see inside his body! also they had a big problem stemming the flow of blood from the artery so it looked like a horror film (his words but I suspect not too bad! )He had his done on the Thursday and then we had a big family funeral which he spoke at on the monday, he was ok to do this but said he could not have gone to work.

Hope it goes well for your Mum. xx