Pulmonary Angiography – Indications, Procedures, Results

Last updated: February 8, 2026Reviewed date: February 8, 2026Reading time: 4 min read
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Pulmonary arteriography; Pulmonary angiogram; Angiogram of the lungs Pulmonary angiography is a test to see how blood flows through the lung. Angiography is an imaging test that uses x-rays and a special dye to see inside the arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood...

For severe symptoms, danger signs, pregnancy, child illness, or sudden worsening, seek urgent medical care.

বাংলা রোগী নোট এখনো যোগ করা হয়নি। পোস্ট এডিটরে “RX Bangla Patient Mode” বক্স থেকে সহজ বাংলা সারাংশ যোগ করুন।

এই তথ্য শিক্ষা ও সচেতনতার জন্য। এটি ডাক্তারি পরীক্ষা, রোগ নির্ণয় বা প্রেসক্রিপশনের বিকল্প নয়।

Article Summary

Pulmonary arteriography; Pulmonary angiogram; Angiogram of the lungs Pulmonary angiography is a test to see how blood flows through the lung. Angiography is an imaging test that uses x-rays and a special dye to see inside the arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. How the Test is Performed This test is done at a hospital. You will be asked...

Key Takeaways

  • This article explains How the Test is Performed in simple medical language.
  • This article explains How to Prepare for the Test in simple medical language.
  • This article explains How the Test will Feel in simple medical language.
  • This article explains Why the Test is Performed in simple medical language.
Educational health guideWritten for patient understanding and clinical awareness.
Reviewed content workflowUse writer and reviewer profiles for stronger trust.
Emergency safety firstUrgent warning signs are highlighted below.

Seek urgent medical care if you notice

These warning signs are general safety guidance. Local emergency numbers and clinical judgment should always come first.

  • Severe symptoms, breathing difficulty, fainting, confusion, or rapidly worsening illness.
  • New weakness, severe pain, high fever, or symptoms after a serious injury.
  • Any symptom that feels urgent, unusual, or unsafe for the patient.
1

Emergency now

Use emergency care for severe, sudden, rapidly worsening, or life-threatening symptoms.

2

See a doctor

Book a professional medical evaluation if symptoms persist, worsen, recur often, affect daily activities, or occur in a high-risk patient.

3

Learn safely

Use this article to understand possible causes, tests, treatment options, prevention, and questions to ask your clinician.

Before reading

RX Patient Tools

Use these quick guides before reading the article, or return to them when you need help preparing questions for a doctor.

Start here Choose the right pathway for symptoms, reports, medicines, or urgent warning signs. Disease article roadmap Read this topic step by step: meaning, symptoms, warning signs, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and follow-up. Treatment planner Prepare questions about treatment choices, benefits, risks, side effects, and follow-up. Family & caregiver guide Organize symptoms, reports, medicines, questions, and follow-up safely. Nutrition & diet guide Prepare food, hydration, supplement, and medicine-timing questions safely. Prevention guide Organize risk factors, protective habits, screening, and warning signs. Recovery guide Prepare a safe plan for activity, rehabilitation, warning signs, and follow-up.

Pulmonary arteriography; Pulmonary angiogram; Angiogram of the lungs

Pulmonary angiography is a test to see how blood flows through the lung.

Angiography is an imaging test that uses x-rays and a special dye to see inside the arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.

How the Test is Performed

This test is done at a hospital. You will be asked to lie on an x-ray table.

  • Before the test starts, you will be given a mild sedative to help you relax.
  • An area of your body, most often the arm or groin, is cleaned and numbed with a local numbing medicine (anesthetic).
  • The radiologist inserts a needle or makes a small cut in a vein in the area that has been cleaned, and inserts a thin hollow tube called a catheter.
  • The catheter is placed through the vein and carefully moved up into and through the right-sided heart chambers and into the pulmonary artery, which leads to the lungs. The doctor can see live x-ray images of the area on a TV-like monitor, and uses them as a guide.
  • Once the catheter is in place, dye is injected into the catheter. X-ray images are taken to see how the dye moves through the lungs’ arteries. The dye helps detect any blockages to blood flow.

Your pulse , blood pressure, and breathing are checked during the procedure. Electrocardiogram (ECG) leads are taped to your arms and legs to monitor your heart.

After the x-rays are taken, the needle and catheter are removed.

Pressure is applied to the puncture site for 20 to 45 minutes to stop the bleeding. After that time the area is checked and a tight bandage is applied. You should keep your leg straight for 6 hours after the procedure.

Rarely, medicines are delivered to the lungs if a blood clot has been found during the procedure.

How to Prepare for the Test

You should not eat or drink anything for 6 to 8 hours before the test.

You will be asked to wear a hospital gown and sign a consent form for the procedure. Remove jewelry from the area being imaged.

Tell your health care provider:

  • If you are pregnant
  • If you have ever had any allergic reactions to x-ray contrast material or iodine substances
  • If you are allergic to any medicines
  • Which medicines you are taking (including any herbal preparations)
  • If you have ever had any bleeding problems

How the Test will Feel

The x-ray table may feel cold. Ask for a blanket or pillow if you are uncomfortable You may feel a brief sting when the numbing medicine is given and a brief, sharp, stick as the catheter is inserted.

You may feel some pressure as the catheter moves up into the lungs. The contrast dye can cause a feeling of warmth and flushing. This is normal and usually goes away in a few seconds.

You may have some pain when an area is touched or pressed. সহজ বাংলা: চাপ দিলে ব্যথা।" data-rx-term="tenderness" data-rx-definition="Tenderness means pain when an area is touched or pressed. সহজ বাংলা: চাপ দিলে ব্যথা।">tenderness and bruising at the site of the injection after the test.

Why the Test is Performed

The test is used to detect blood clots ( pulmonary embolism ) and other blockages in the blood flow in the lung. Most of the time, your provider will have tried other tests to diagnose a blood clot in the lungs.

Pulmonary angiography may also be used to help diagnose:

  • AV malformations of the lung
  • Congenital (present from bith) narrowing of the pulmonary vessels
  • Pulmonary artery aneurysms
  • Pulmonary hypertension , high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs

Normal Results

The x-ray will show normal structures for the age of the person.

What Abnormal Results Mean

Abnormal results may be due to:

  • Aneurysms of pulmonary vessels
  • Blood clot in the lungs (pulmonary embolism)
  • Narrowed blood vessel
  • Primary pulmonary hypertension
  • Tumor in the lung

Risks

A person may develop an abnormal heart rhythm during this test. The health care team will monitor your heart and can treat any abnormal rhythms that develop.

Other risks include:

  • Allergic reaction to the contrast dye
  • Damage to the blood vessel as the needle and catheter are inserted
  • Blood clot traveling to the lungs, causing an embolism
  • Excessive bleeding or a blood clot where the catheter is inserted, which can reduce blood flow to the leg
  • Heart attack or stroke
  • Hematoma (a collection of blood at the site of the needle puncture)
  • Injury to the nerves at the puncture site
  • Kidney damage from the dye

There is low radiation exposure. X-rays are monitored and regulated to provide the least amount of radiation exposure needed to produce the image. Most experts feel that the risk is low compared with the benefits.

Pregnant women and children are more sensitive to the risks of x-rays.

Considerations

CT (computed tomography) angiography of the chest has largely replaced this test.

Doctor visit helper

Prepare before seeing a doctor

A simple rural-patient checklist to help you explain symptoms clearly, ask better questions, and avoid unsafe self-treatment.

Safety note: This is not a prescription or diagnosis. For severe symptoms, pregnancy danger signs, children with serious illness, chest pain, breathing difficulty, stroke-like weakness, or major injury, seek urgent care.

Which doctor may help?

Start with a registered doctor or the nearest qualified health center.

What to tell the doctor

  • Write when the problem started and how it changed.
  • Bring old prescriptions, investigation reports, and current medicines.
  • Write allergies, pregnancy status, diabetes, kidney/liver disease, and major past illnesses.
  • Bring one family member if the patient is weak, elderly, confused, or a child.

Questions to ask

  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
  • Which danger signs mean I should go to hospital quickly?
  • Which tests are necessary now, and which can wait?
  • How should I take medicines safely and what side effects should I watch for?
  • When should I come for follow-up?

Tests to discuss

  • Vital signs: temperature, pulse, blood pressure, oxygen saturation
  • Basic physical examination by a clinician
  • CBC, urine test, blood sugar, or imaging only when clinically needed

Avoid these mistakes

  • Do not use antibiotics, steroid tablets/injections, or strong painkillers without proper medical advice.
  • Do not hide pregnancy, kidney disease, ulcer, allergy, or blood thinner use.
  • Do not delay emergency care when danger signs are present.

Medicine safety and first-aid guide

This section is for patient education only. It does not replace a doctor, pharmacist, or emergency care.

Safe first steps

  • Stop activity and seek urgent medical evaluation.
  • Chest pain should not be managed only with home medicine.
  • Discuss ECG and cardiac blood tests with emergency care when appropriate.

OTC medicine safety

  • Do not take random painkillers to hide chest pain before medical evaluation.

Avoid these mistakes

  • Do not start antibiotics without a proper medical decision.
  • Do not use steroid tablets or injections casually for quick relief.
  • Do not delay emergency care because of home remedies.

Get urgent help if

  • Chest pressure, sweating, breathlessness, fainting, pain spreading to arm/jaw/back, or known heart disease needs emergency care.
Medicine names, dose, and timing must be decided by a qualified clinician or pharmacist after checking age, pregnancy, allergy, other diseases, and current medicines.

For rural patients and family caregivers

Patient health record and symptom diary

Write your symptoms, medicines already taken, test results, and questions before visiting a doctor. This note stays on your device unless you print or copy it.

Doctor to discuss: Doctor / qualified healthcare provider
Tests to discuss with doctor
  • Basic vital signs: temperature, pulse, blood pressure, oxygen level if needed
  • Relevant blood, urine, imaging, or specialist tests only after clinical assessment
Questions to ask
  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
  • Which warning signs mean I should go to emergency care?
  • Which tests are really needed now?
  • Which medicines are safe for my age, pregnancy status, allergy, kidney/liver/stomach condition, and current medicines?

Emergency warning signs such as chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, sudden weakness, confusion, severe dehydration, major injury, or loss of bladder/bowel control need urgent medical care. Do not wait for online information.

Safe pathway to proper treatment

Care roadmap for: Pulmonary Angiography – Indications, Procedures, Results

Use this simple roadmap to understand the next safe steps. It is educational and does not replace examination by a doctor.

Go to emergency care if you notice:
  • Severe or rapidly worsening symptoms
  • Breathing difficulty, chest pain, fainting, confusion, severe weakness, major injury, or severe dehydration
Doctor / service to discuss: Qualified healthcare provider; specialist depends on symptoms and examination.
  1. Step 1

    Check danger signs first

    If danger signs are present, seek emergency care and do not wait for online information.

  2. Step 2

    Record the symptom story

    Write when symptoms started, severity, medicines already taken, allergies, pregnancy status, and test results.

  3. Step 3

    Visit a qualified clinician

    A doctor, nurse, or qualified healthcare provider can examine you and decide which tests or treatment are needed.

  4. Step 4

    Do only useful tests

    Do tests after clinical assessment. Avoid unnecessary tests, random antibiotics, or repeated medicines without diagnosis.

  5. Step 5

    Follow up and return early if worse

    If symptoms worsen, new warning signs appear, or treatment is not helping, return for review quickly.

Rural patient practical tips
  • Take a written symptom diary and all previous prescriptions/test reports.
  • Do not hide medicines already taken, even herbal or over-the-counter medicines.
  • Ask which warning signs mean urgent referral to hospital.

This roadmap is for education. A real diagnosis and treatment plan requires history, examination, and clinical judgment.

RX Patient Help

Ask a health question safely

Write your symptom story. A health professional or site editor can review it before any answer is prepared. This box is not for emergency care.

Emergency first: Severe chest pain, breathing trouble, unconsciousness, stroke signs, severe injury, heavy bleeding, or rapidly worsening symptoms need urgent local medical care now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this article a replacement for a doctor?

No. It is educational content only. Patients should consult a qualified clinician for diagnosis and treatment.

When should I seek urgent care?

Seek urgent care for severe symptoms, rapidly worsening condition, breathing difficulty, severe pain, neurological changes, or any emergency warning sign.

References

Add references, clinical guidelines, textbooks, journal articles, or trusted medical sources here. You can edit this area from the RX Article Professional Blocks panel.

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