Watch an angiogram: 360 degree video

This interactive video shows an angiogram and then an angioplasty with stent insertion through the arm to open up a blocked artery in the heart. 

This film shows you what it is like to be in the cardiac catheterisation lab (or catheter lab). This is where you might have an angiogram, angioplasty or stent insertion, ablation, ICD or pacemaker insertion, a TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) as well as other tests and procedures. 

In this video, the medical team starts off by performing an angiogram to check the size and seriousness of the blockage. This means they feed a tube into the heart through an artery in the arm and pass dye (also known as contrast) into it. The dye passes through the arteries and can show where an artery is blocked, meaning blood is struggling to pass through to supply your heart. You might be admitted for an angiogram if you have experienced chest pain, or other symptoms that may have caused a heart attack or angina symptoms.

The results of the angiogram will show whether you need further treatment, which might be an angioplasty, bypass surgery or medication only. If you need an angioplasty (which is what happens in this video) that will usually happen at the same time. In an angioplasty the cardiologist inserts a catheter into your artery and inflates a tiny balloon at the narrowing to widen it and improve the blood flow.

• Watch our second 360 degree video to meet the team behind the masks and find out what to expect in a cath lab.