REAPING the BENEFITS of RADIAL CATHETERIZATION Using a wrist artery rather than accessing the circulatory system from a groin artery offers patients a safer procedure with fewer chances of complications and a much quicker recovery.
After reporting shortness of breath and heaviness in her chest, Patricia Tyson of Lafayette was scheduled for a cardiac catheterization to check for blockages in her arteries.
compression are needed after this type of catheterization. Patients must lay on their backs for a few hours after the procedure, and they can experience bruising and soreness at the access site.
Though she’d been through this procedure before to place two stents, IU Health Arnett cardiologist Dr. Michael Hogan decided to use a new, different method of catheterization.
The radial artery, located on the underside of the wrist, is supported by a bone underneath it rather than soft tissue. Because the vessel is not as deeply embedded, there’s little risk of bleeding. If there is bleeding, the radial artery is easily compressed and quickly responds to pressure.
Rather than the traditional method of catheterization which enters the circulatory system through the femoral artery in the groin, he instead chose to insert the catheter into Tyson’s wrist through the radial artery. While the radial artery is smaller than the femoral artery, he was able to use the newer method, called transradial catheterization, because catheters are now made smaller than ever before.
LESS RISK OF BLEEDING, BRUISING, PAIN “Patients benefit in multiple ways from a transradial catheterization,” Dr. Hogan says. “There are fewer chances of complications, and the recovery is much faster.” A femoral artery in the groin is a deeply embedded vessel, with only soft tissue under it. Often, several hours of 12
DEFINING MOMENTS
QUICK RECOVERY “Patients return to their daily activities much faster after a transradial catheterization,” Dr. Hogan says. “They do not have to lie still for hours afterward and typically experience much less pain and bruising at the site.” That suited Tyson, of Lafayette, just fine. She likes to keep busy. Her love of children and interest in needlework come together nicely in the crocheted toys she likes to make. “I make afghans, doilies, long-legged clowns, toys and whatever strikes my fancy,” she says of her hobby. “It keeps me calm when I get frustrated.”