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Radiation & Me

Cardiology

In cardiology, the most common x-ray exam is the angiogram. During an angiogram, contrast material that is not radioactive is injected into the heart arteries so the arteries can be seen by the x rays. Copyright 2008, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research The angiogram is used to find out whether there are issues with these arteries, like a blockage. In some cases, if narrowed or blocked arteries are found during the exam, a procedure called angioplasty might be done to clean out the blockage and a metal stent placed in the artery to hold it open.