A cardiac angiogram is painful, but usually this pain is mild and can be tolerated by most patients.
Cardiac angiography is a test in which a puncture is made in the radial or femoral artery, a catheter is passed through the aorta into the opening of the coronary artery of the heart, and a contrast medium is injected to visualize the coronary artery. There is usually pain at the site of the radial or femoral artery puncture, but this is usually mild and can be tolerated by most patients.
After the cardiac angiogram is performed, there is no pain as the endothelium of the blood vessel is devoid of nociceptive nerves, so the guidewire passes through the radial, brachial, and femoral arteries and other large arteries without pain to the patient.
Cardiac angiography can be used to diagnose diseases such as coronary atherosclerotic cardiomyopathy and myocardial bridges, so please follow your doctor’s instructions.