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Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, typically as a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size using water pressures some 75 to 500 times normal blood pressure (6 to 20 atmospheres). The balloon crushes the fatty deposits, opening up the blood vessel for improved flow, and the balloon is then deflated and withdrawn.
The word is composed of the medical combining forms of the Greek words aggeîos meaning "vessel" and plastós meaning "formed" or "moulded". Angioplasty has come to include all manner of vascular interventions typically performed in a minimally invasive or percutaneous method.