Patients prefer wrist route to blocked vessels
(Hackensack N.J.) Record
Updated 12:06 p.m., Wednesday, July 4, 2012
HACKENSACK, N.J — For decades, physicians treated blocked heart vessels by snaking a thin tube from an artery in the groin up to the heart area. But now some cardiologists are adopting a method that goes through the wrist instead of the groin, an approach European physicians have used for years.
Using the wrist – to look for a blockage or to treat one – causes fewer complications and allows almost immediate mobility afterward.
The procedure, known as radial artery catheterization, usually involves less time in the hospital, which means lower costs, and requires a short recuperation period, according to cardiologists.
“Patients love it. If they’ve had a catheterization done from the groin and then through the wrist, they never want to go back,” said Dr. Janet Strain, director of cardiac clinical research at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J.
https://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Patients-prefer-wrist-route-to-blocked-vessels-3683159.php
