The minimally invasive technique uses a balloon to unblock and improve blood flow and is guided by medical imaging. In March 1980, Spain's first patient received the procedure -- a 46-year-old at the Nuestra Señora de Covadonga Hospital in Oviedo, which is now part of the General Hospital of Asturias.

The patient had a left superficial femoral artery stenosis that was treated endovascularly by a balloon.