Coronary angioplasty, also called "PTCA," is a procedure in which a catheter (flexible plastic tube) with a small balloon dilates, or "opens up," a blocked artery that supplies the heart muscle with blood. In contrast to open-heart surgery, PTCA can be done by making a small puncture in the skin and inserting the catheter into an artery in the leg or arm. Patients are awake during the procedure. Most go home within a day or two after it's over.