Angioplasty is a success for Stewart

Actor Patrick Stewart is recovering at home after undergoing an angioplasty procedure earlier this week to widen an artery, his publicist said Friday.

Angioplasty involves the use of a catheter to place a small inflatable balloon in a narrowed blood vessel. When the balloon is inflated, the blood flows in the artery more freely.

The 64-year-old Stewart -- who played Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” film and its sequel and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” -- went for an annual physical Monday, publicist Kelly Bush said. Doctors detected a blood-flow problem and recommended “preemptive angioplasty” to head off any ailments.

Bush described the procedure as a success and said Stewart is resting before returning to work next week, where he plans to finish the upcoming movie “The Game of Their Lives.”