Radial Artery Catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a mini-mally invasive procedure com-monly used to diagnose and treat heart conditions. During catheterization, small tubes (catheters) are inserted into the circulatory system under x-ray guidance in order to obtain informa-tion about blood flow and pressures within the heart and to determine if there are obstructions within the blood vessels feeding the heart muscle (cor-onary arteries). Obstructions of the arteries are caused by plaque buildup, and when severe they can cause a variety of symptoms including chest pain and shortness of breath. A cathe-terization may be recommended on an elective basis if the symptoms are sta-ble or on an emergency basis if the symptoms are sudden and the treating physician is concerned that they may represent an active or impending heart attack. On the basis of the location and number of obstructions, the treatment plan will include the use of specialized medications and possibly the place-ment of a stent or referral for bypass surgery to improve blood flow to the heart muscle and alleviate symptoms. The catheters necessary for cardiac catheterization can be inserted either into the femoral artery (in the groin), or into the radial artery (in the wrist). The femoral artery is a larger vessel and provides a more direct route to the heart. Because of these advantages, the femoral artery has become the stan-dard entry site for catheterization pro-cedures. However, there has been a recent increase in the use of the radial artery for cardiac catheterization procedures.