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Transradial (Wrist) Approach to Angiograms or Angioplasty(Archive: 2010 and Earlier)
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Archived Postings on This Page from 2010 and Earlier (73): • I had an angiogram thru the Radial artery in
my right arm. It was very painful as my artery had a spasm. It continued
to hurt for 6 days and nights and I lost a lot of sleep. When I returned
for my follow-up appointment, the cardiologist advised me my Radial artery
had completely collapsed, the reason for the pain, and was no longer
functioning, that the brachial and ulna arteries were compensating for
the Radial. It
has been over three weeks now and there is still some discomfort in the
arm. Has this happened to anyone else? • I just had an Angiogram in my right arm and the
artery had a spasm. It has been 6 days now and I am hurting from the shoulder
all the way down to my
fingers. I can't sleep and pain killers only work for a while. How long is
this going to last? I am having a hard time with this. • Wanted to let you know that to my surprise the
day of the heart cath the doctor did indeed do radial! So my recovery
was quick and the only discomfort I had was a little soreness in my right
forearm.
After the fourth day it was fine. I cannot thank you all enough for getting
the word out about this. • I had an angiogram through the right wrist, the
whole experience was traumatic and I am still recovering from the trauma....the
cardiologist had problems getting in as the artery kept going into spasm...it
took about 45 mins to do the angio, and I kept having gtn spray and sedatives
throughout to ease the pain and discomfort...3 days later and I am still
having discomfort in my arm, like a dull ache..I was never told to expect
this so was rather worried. After reading experiences on here it sounds
quite normal so I am not as worried now....glad to say my arteries were
also clear. I would never want to have another angio as long as I live. • Tammy -- Glad our web site is helping spread
the word. Every radial cardiologist we've spoken with discusses the fact
that patients who have had the procedure via the groin/leg artery and subsequently
had it done through the wrist/radial approach would never go back. The
procedure is spreading in the U.S. We just attended the "Radial
Summit"
in Boston to an overflow crowd. The approach your cardiologists are discussing
sounds like the "brachial" approach (pronounced "brake-eel")
through the brachial artery in the elbow. This is not the same as the radial
approach.
As with all procedures, the skill and
experience of the operator is a big factor, and one can find arguments
for and against each approach. We see that you are writing from Arizona.
If you use our Radial
Hospital Locator, you will see hospitals that practice the
radial approach. You can also read our interview with Dr.
Mehrdad Saririan who
is located in Phoenix. Perhaps this may be of some assistance. Please let
The Forum know how things turn out. • I first heard about Radial Access here right after I had nerve damage
from a heart cath in 2008. I am having another cath on friday. I have requested
the radial access and the best I was offered by two different Cardiologists was
through my upper right arm. I am wondering if you could let me know more about
this entry point. Thank you. • I had my angiogram done through the wrist two
weeks ago and had no trouble but some pain in the thumb to the wrist.
Yesterday my wrist was hurting hurting up to my under arm (not bad just
some throbbing)
and the surrounding area has got hard and swollen. Is this some thing
I should be concerned about, or should I be just taking it easier? • Just adding to my previous post. It has been over
1 week now and still no problems. The black and blue mark has all but faded
away now. For me this
procedure worked really well. • I had the right radial angiogram on October 14th
2010. I had no complications and it was almost painless. My only mark
besides the needle entry is the black and blue mark that has appeared days
later.
My recovery time was a lot less than my husband who had a femoral done
3 years ago. It went well for me. • Just would like all to read my
post from August 3 about the nature of Forums like this
one, and how patients who post are more likely to be those having a problem,
although there a quite a few
posts in this topic from "satisfied customers" as well. One the
whole, the percentage of complications are much lower with the radial approach
than with the femoral. And bleeding complications, which can be quite
serious, are virtually non-existent with the wrist site.
But
no procedure
is perfect -- and if things are not right, definitely call the cardiologist
who did the procedure -- it's important that he/she be made aware of every
complication they've been involved with -- it will make them better cardiologists.
Too often, the patient leaves the cath lab and, when there's a problem,
it's the G.P. who deals with it, and the cardiologist never hears about
it. I would also ask all those who experienced discomfort
afterwards, and who have posted their story to this topic, to please update
us all on whether or not the problem got resolved, how long it took, etc.
This would be of great help to others. Thanks to all!! • I had a angiogram done on 10/04/10. Dr attempted
right radial and artery spasmed. Exited arm and went in groin after all.
4 days after procedure experiencing
incredible pain in right wrist and forearm. 800 mg ibuprofen doesn't even stop
pain. Cardiologist changed BP meds to help stop spasming, 3 days later still
spasming. • I've just had a coronary angiogram procedure
done. There were no blockages but rather a cholesterol count of 8. I
have been experiencing excruciating pain starting in my left shoulder down
to
my ring finger. I noticed last night that my right hand is also starting
to ache. Is this normal after this kind of procedure? I am reluctant
to contact my GP for fear of sounding petty. • I made a previous entry on the 4th of October
2009 (in
the Forum Topic "Cost of Stent and Angioplasty")
that being I had 2x Promus drug eluting stents put in, one in the mid LAD
and
one in the Circumflex
artery
via
right radial
access.
The
procedure
was done at Wakefield Hospital in New Zealand and cost $21,000 New Zealand
Dollars. At the time I experienced absolutely no pain or any side effects
what so ever and I could not believe how successful the procedure was.
Nearly a year has passed since the procedure and to date I have not experienced
any form of pain or any form of side effect what so ever. The procedure
has been absolutely fantastic. • Bob -- if you read
over the articles and news stories in our Radial Access
Center, you'll see that more and more studies
have shown the wrist access may be safer than the groin (mainly regarding
bleeding complications). There is no difference in the outcomes, but for
the patient, he can sit up and walk immediately after the procedure, etc.
One of the oddities of having a Forum such as this is that, it becomes
a "complaint department" -- which is important so that problems
can be surfaced -- but any balance becomes non-existent and you only see
posting
from patients who have had problems. If you go over to the femoral approach
topics, you'll see over 1,000 posts, mostly of complications. Again, in
all the randomized and observational studies done comparing femoral to
radial, the radial approach has shown significantly lower complications.
Of course, the patient must be selected correctly -- a certain percentage
of patients are not ideal for this approach. You should ask your father's
cardiologists to explain these issues in his case in particular, but read
over our articles and interviews first. • My dad is about to undergo a 2nd angiogram due
to a mild heart attack. He also had a mild heart attack some 5 years
ago for which he had an angiogram and a stent inserted. This time they
want
to go in though his arm and not his groin (different hospital). Any reason
why, and what is the difference? He had no complications through the
groin last time. Judging by the posts, it appears that there are more complications
with the arm catheter. • Gormo from the UK -- sounds like some type of
anatomical obstruction. Did they try the left radial? Recent studies have
shown equal efficacy from left radial, even though it is less often used. • hi I've just had a right radial angio, I've got
scar damage to both groins due to the amount of angios performed. Could
somebody explain why after inserting the catheter into the right artery
it seems to only able to travel between 5 and 7 inches then can't go
any further i have a good pulse on the right radial and nobody seems to
know
what's going on i can't continue with the bypass surgery until a new
angiogram can be performed . Could you offer any advice? • I've had this procedure done in my wrist 4 days ago, luckily everything
is fine, but I am getting excruciating pain in my thumb,palm & forearm to the
point that I'm only sleeping for a couple of hours at a time. Please can anyone
tell me why this is & if
it will go? • I had a transradial angiography 3 days ago at
the Feiring Klinikken near Oslo. All I felt was a strong pressing into
my wrist like with a thumb, then a few moments later a fluttering sensation
in my heart. I was on & off' the table within about 20 minutes with the
good news that my heart is OK. The needle puncture at my wrist is no bigger
than a gnats head. I had no bleeding or pain and only minimal bruising.
After some of the horror stories I read about this procedure the experience
was much easier and better than I could ever have hoped for, and I was
heading home (alone) on a 7 hour train journey within 5 hours. I feel sad
that many people seem to be having very bad experiences with this procedure
and wonder why this is? • I had an angiogram two weeks back.The catheter
was inserted thru right arm. Two days later I developed severe pain in
my arm and I was not able to lift
my hand, doctor gave me a pain killer for three days and advised to use ice
pack and I was OK after three days. However after 8 days again the pain
has appeared
starting thumb to back of the shoulder.Can you suggest me a remedy? • The angiogram I had on 30/4/10 was both painful
and frightening as no one seemed to respond to me. The pre-op notes said
it would be painless! It wasn't. I was told I could have a relaxant but
in theatre no one offered it to me, until it was well on in the procedure.
The doctor came in saying he was going to catch up on the morning's list.
Afterwards the basic care was OK but no one asked if I was ok or discussed
the problems I'd had. My GP will write to them when he gets the results.
I could not use my hand for 2 weeks and still have trouble. I have just
stopped using max dose pain relief, dihyracodomol and ibuprofen If I
had been given the choice I would have opted for the groin entry point
as I
use my right hand in my work. Afterwards I felt beaten up both physically
and emotionally. I still get angry. I try to think how grateful I should
be, that all is well, others are far worse off, etc. etc. but nothing
helps at present. • I had an Angio done 9 days ago during the procedure
I was in immense pain. They stopped procedure after 7 minutes fortunately
no blocked arteries I felt
everything and was given Antrpin I think it's called. But following the
procedure I have had constant pain in my arm from the wrist to the fore
arm. They say
it should go within 2 weeks I hope they're right. • my husband had a angioplasty procedure through
his wrist followed by a stent being fitted on the 13/04/2010. Though
he is feeling much better in a lot of ways he still not hardly getting
any
sleep due to pain in his arm.He has dull ache pain in his forearm that
is not letting him get any sleep. He was told he could take paracetamals
but these are not helping. If any one else has had this problem can you
please tell us what else he can take to relieve this pain • Thanks for your response. In my case, since the
pain was so excruciating before we can even proceed with the angiogram,
we decided not to go ahead with
it. But even after they took out the needle, the pain still existed for a few
hours. My right arm became normal the next day. • Well, it's a little more than two weeks after
the procedure, and for the most part, I am fine. Both the area of the
procedure and the area where the IUV was drawn are still yellowish and
tender, but
I would say that I have 80-85% of the flexibility and strength in my
right hand/wrist/arm that I had before the angiogram. I have a slight discomfort
in the back of my upper arm, but that may well be due to arthritis as
to
the procedure. An equally slight discomfort in my wrist when I bend it
fully toward me. But obviously, I am much better than I was. May I assume
that the area of needle penetration will forever be scarred? • Greg M (and Ruth) -- sometimes because the radial
(wrist) artery is relatively narrow, the catheter manipulation can
cause the artery to go into spasm. Cardiologists use a variety of drug
"cocktails" to prevent or minimize this -- it is one of the differences
between radial and femoral access -- sometimes there is residual pain
in the wrist or arm. But not often. Let us know how long it took after
the procedure for your arm to return to normal. • Had a wrist angiogram yesterday. There was some
discomfort initially, as it took 4 times for the needle to penetrate
the artery. After that, though, pretty smooth sailing, done in less than
15
minutes. Happily, no blockages, and I was out of the hospital in 2 hours.
I actually responded well to the warmth of the dye in the heart. Wrist
was partially numb for about 10 hours after the procedure, and felt a
little cold to the touch. It is currently a little sore 32 hours after
the procedure,
but no longer numb or cold. I don't want to do much more than type with
the hand that underwent the procedure (right). I was told that in two
or three more days, the hand should be close to back to normal. • Question – I have a Coronary Angiography done
today as my cardiologist wanted to find out what is the cause of my chest
pain. When the needle was being
inserted into the middle of my right arm and they injected the steroid cover
(as I am allergic to penicillin and seafood), I started to feel excruciating
pain, unbearable soreness and numbness of my entire right arm up to my right
hand. The pain, soreness and numbness worsened and became so unbearable that
they have to take out the needle (after about 20 minutes since it was inserted)
. In the end, we have decided to cancel the angiography altogether as this was
only performed in a private clinic (instead of a hospital) just in case. Even
after they took out the needle, I still experienced the pain, soreness and numbness
for a few hours and my right hand was much darker/redder than my left hand, even
though my right arm did not show any sign of bruises. So my question is what
could be the cause of this? • Janet -- sorry to hear of the bad experience --
we hope that the complications have resolved. It's one of the conundrums
of emergency interventional cardiology that the patient is spared the extensive
heart damage that would have resulted from the heart attack before angioplasty
was invented, but that occasionally (and rarely in the wrist
approach) the access site complication is what the patient is left experiencing
-- minor, compared to the heart attack, but not minor if it's your arm
(or more commonly, your leg). Curious why you "can't" ask your doc what
happened?? Also, we would guess that what you saw "come out" of the catheter
was probably the deflated balloon or the thrombectomy device. Such a bleeding
complication in a radial procedure is very rare. • Had emergency angioplasty for MI, found 100% blockage
of left circumflex artery. Artery opened with thrombectomy, stent applied
-- immediate relief of
all heart attack pain (including pain in my teeth that I had assumed was dental
issues for the last month!) Felt radial artery in wrist cut (mild pain), nothing
else too bad--except when the catheter was removed--experienced excruciating
pain. Thought I saw something come out--balloon not deflated? So grateful for
surgery but curious for an explanation of what happened at the end. Had internal
bleeding in arm--required two pressure clips--bruised 16 shades of purple from
wrist to elbow on both sides of arm. Hear everyone else say minimal pain--I had
my back arched and was stomping the table with my feet,it was so bad--was the
balloon
not fully closed--did i need more freezing--can't ask doc--any ideas? • Michael -- if you are concerned, you should call
the hospital. It's likely that the follow up slipped by. But the fact that
you're fine is great. St. Vincent's is one of the foremost centers in the
U.S. practicing wrist access -- Dr. John Coppola (read
his interview) is
one of the experts in this field and has trained many of the radial cardiologists
throughout the country. No pun intended, but you were in very good hands! • I had a right radial (wrist) angiogram two days
ago (12/2/09), which went very smoothly. I was on my way home within
three hours and have felt very little discomfort. And no blockage was found,
so I am very lucky. I was told the hospital (St. Vincent's, NY, NY) would
be calling me the next day to see how I was doing, but I've received
no
phone call. My only worry is that the doctors were supposed to be checking
out my LAD but they went through the right wrist. Does this matter, or
I am being hopelessly neurotic? • i had diagnostic angiography radial approach 1 week ago. i currently
experience "funny bone-like" sensation and pain from the wrist up to the inner
part of my arm pit. anyone else experience this? • I've just undergone a radial angiogram last Monday
6th October 2009 that revealed no problems or need for treatment. My
wrist was fine for 4 days until I started being active again. I am now
in a lot
of pain and medication doesn't seem to be helping. I would like to know
if anyone out there has had similar problems, if so, has it resolved
and what treatment was given? I'm back at work and finding it difficult
to
cope with the constant 'toothache' type pain that runs from wrist into
fingers especially thumb up to shoulder girdle. Thanks • I had 2x Promus drug eluting stents put in 3
weeks ago, one in the mid LAD and one in the Circumflex artery via right
radial access. Done at Wakefield Hospital in New Zealand cost $21,000 New
Zealand Dollars. Fantastic procedure no problems to date and noticed a
huge improvement immediately following the procedure. • Thank you for your reply. I have a follow-up
appt. 7/20 and will report
the reaction post angio. • Jennifer -- chances of bleeding complications when the radial (wrist) approach is used is very small, as indicated by the news articles and interviews in our Radial Access Center. As for collapsing stents, we've just started a new forumtopic on that subject. Are you sure the physician didn't mean that the stents got blocked? Let us know how things progress. And Bonnie -- we're glad to hear your radial angiogram
went well and was painless -- but regarding your migraine, it is possible
you had this reaction to the specific sedation used. We'd suggest reporting
this to your doctor so, should you ever need conscious sedation in the
future, a different drug can be used. • My dad had the traditional angioplasty through
the artery in the leg, two stents (medicated) were inserted into blockages.
My father is on Coumadin and several other medications for heart disease.
Discharge was 2 days after the procedure. 6 days post op my father was
rushed back to ER with a hematoma in the leg at the insertion site. Healing
went well, was feeling better day by day and then suddenly not feeling
well again. All symptoms returned and surgeon feels that stents collapsed.
Now he is back in as we speak having the procedure through the wrist
- What are his chances of having that type of bleed in the wrist? Are there
different types of stents that will be less likely to collapse? I don't
think he can go through this much more. Thank You • I had radial angiogram 6/29/09 (yesterday). I
had a little fentenyl/demerol (for cons. sedation) and a local before insertion.
Great! I was relaxed and no pain. Discharged 2 hrs. later with pressure
dressing and splint. All fine until the drive home (3hrs.) when I started
getting a headache and couldn't keep my eyes open because of the pain and
sunlight. I took some ibuprofen but by the time we got home it was like
a REALLY BAD migraine where you have to go to bed in a dark room with a
cold washrag. Has anyone else had this side effect? This morning it's better
but the headache is still hanging out there. Any thoughts why this would
happen? • After my initial Angiogram performed via the
femoral artery my right thigh from my groin to my knee was completely bruised
and black all around. It took months before that went away. I later had
two stents fitted via the same access site and had no bruising although
I had to endure a very, very painful procedure after the sheath was removed.
This involved a nurse manually pressing hard at the wound for what seemed
an eternity in order to stop the bleeding. Apparently the clamping contraption
normally used to apply the required pressure was not available. Three years
later the angina returned and so I had another angiogram, this time via
the right radial artery. The pain of the initial needle into the wrist
was quite uncomfortable but after that just pushing feelings and the usual
weird sensations as the tube thingie winds its way around your heart area.
It was nice to be up and about quickly and no bleeding problems but, the
pain in my arm after the freeezing wore off was bad. I could not sleep
very well for weeks, I just did not know where to put my arm. The pain
was not from the wound area but up the forearm right up to the bicep area,
it took several weeks to go away. My angina is now worse again, I fear
In-Stent Restenosis has reared its ugly head. This time I can choose, Femoral
or Radial, to be honest I just don't know which. The less painful Femoral
with its risk of bleeding/bruising, or the faster mobility and bruise free
Radial with the attendant post procedural
pain! D'oh! • just had two stents done yesterday at 9.00am
in the morning done by Transradial (Wrist) Approach - (kissing stents in
my LAD) . I have already a drug eluting stent in my LAD 7 months ago and
a follow up angiogram done by the standard groin method with closure device.
I found the Radial approach far more comfortable after operation but more
painful at start when inserting the sheath to begin with. If i was to have
a choice next time i would still choose radial simply for being able to
get up straight away and it's far easier to rest your arm than your whole
leg!. at 4.00pm and two stents later i was back at home and all is
well. • I had a 'look-see' transradial angiogram in mid-Feb
and have since then been experiencing quite severe pain (without significant
swelling or redness) in my right hand (especially thumb) only on using
my hand (even for normal daily activities like combing my hair). The radial
pulse is slightly weaker on the right, but there is no numbness, and my
fingers are not blue! The pain only comes on with use, but my concern is
that it is debilitating and seems to be getting worse rather than better
despite pain relief 2 months down the line. Can anyone advise if it will
resolve and how long this might take. I am understandably reluctant to
have any further procedures. • Thank you so much for the quick response. We
will bring this information to his interventional cardiologist
when we see him
(today, actually).
Thanks again, • Cindy -- Your question is a complicated one. There
was a recent trial presented in the fall called Horizons-AMI which compared
two methods of antiplatelet/anticoagulant
therapy during angioplasty in heart attacks. A drug called bivalirudin
was compared against unfractionated heparin (UFH) plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa
inhibitor (which Integrilin is) and bivalirudin resulted in significantly
less bleeding than the combo.
But these types of decisions are decisions that must be made by your cardiologist,
interventional cardiologist specifically, because he/she has the specific
information about your father's clinical condition and the options. So
this is NOT medical advice, just a reference to the results of a well-publicized
trial.
As for the balloon pump, there are new alternatives, such as the TandemHeart
device and the Impella, but they are not, to our knowledge, able to be
used via the radial artery. Again, your interventional cardiologist should
be able to discuss the alternatives with you. A further note: the radial
approach is associated with virtually no bleeding complications from the
access site (the wrist artery) which is very important especially when
strong anticoagulants are being used, as in your father's case. His bleeding
complications have nothing to do with the access site, but with an internal
reaction to the drug. • My father recently had an angioplasty done through
the radial artery. He had a SEVERE reaction to Integrilin which dropped
his platelets to 10,000 and cause severe internal bleeding. He was in ICU
for over a week on a vent and nearly died. He is a repeat angioplasty patient,
and will more than likely require another in the future. Is there an alternative
to the Integrilin that will not cause the same adverse reaction?
Also, can an aortic balloon pump be inserted anywhere other than the femoral
arteries? Both of his are blocked.
Thanks. • Denise -- without more specifics it's hard to
say what the hospital means, but basically the problem with chronic total
occlusions (CTO) is that it is very hard to cross the blockage, because
the contrast dye gets blocked and the cardiologist has to "guess" where
the channel that he wants to open up is. By using two catheters, with simultaneous
dye injections in both the left and right coronary arteries, the cardiologist
can visualize both ends of the blockage, and have a much better change
of crossing. Sometimes a radial and a femoral access are used, sometimes
both femoral, sometimes both radial. • i had angiogram recently and was told that i
have chronic occlusion to right artery and have had a heart attack. Letter
received from hospital saying that i am good candidate for bilateral
radial approach chronic occlusion to my right artery. what does this mean
and
what treatment will i be having. • Edward -- glad everything worked out -- and the
ease of your procedure is a good example of how the radial approach (through
the wrist) can be beneficial for older patients. As for the Plavix, check
out our topic on Plavix After Stents, but the short answer is that guidelines
post-stenting call for aspirin for life, and Plavix for 4-6 weeks if you
got a bare metal stent and 6-12 months if yours was a drug-eluting or coated
stent. Some cardiologists keep their patients on Plavix for longer. • Hi. Two days before my 81st birthday I had
a heart attack, I had no symptoms before the attack. In the ops room
I watched
the wrist op with no discomfort. Have been on 81mg aspirin and 75mg Plavix
no problems! Now I have been told to use up my Plavix and stop using
it. I also take 80mg Lipitor. any suggestions? • I have had two angiograms via the radial artery,the
first was in my right arm,this left me without a pulse so the second angiogram
was done in my left arm,this left me with a very tender radial artery for
4 months and I have now developed phlebitis in the same artery. I am not
impressed. • I had an angiogram through my wrist 2 weeks ago
about 4 days later I began to have a dull ache in the area of insertion
to about a quarter a way up my arm it is painful when I press on that area
of my wrist. • I just arrived home (12/06/08) from having two
plain stainless steel stents put in thru my right wrist at
UCONN Medical Center in Farmington, Connecticut. I feel like a million
bucks
just
a little tender at the point if entry and I'm
sure that will pass. • G in Arizona -- you might also want to check out
our just-posted
interview with Dr. Mehrdad Saririan of Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix. • UPDATE
from April 7, 2008 This is to confirm that yes, indeed Radial Access
is available at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
I was told that they do have some doctors that perform Radial Access.
I was able to get the phone numbers of three different Cardiologist offices
directly from the Cardiology Department Cath Lab. I apologize for the
delay in letting you know but my condition that brought me to this site
has not improved. • Cecelia -- some soreness is to be expected with
either the wrist or the leg approach. This should go away in a few days.
Let us know how he is doing. • My husband at 33 has had a heart attack which
has left a portion of his heart permanently damaged with 2 stents placed
in the LAD via femoral artery. After another angiogram follow-up in July
to assess chest discomfort we went in to have a trans-radial angioplasty.
Recovery and discharge time was cut in half and quick. However he is
experiencing some minor discomfort in his arm from the entry point to the
middle of
the bicep. Just wondering if this is part of the healing process or if
it is something to worry about. • Hi, i had an angioplasty in feb 2008 , i had
one stent put in and i found this fantastic treatment , however, i have
had issues at the entry site ie wrist, every 2 months since the op ,the
site has swollen to a golf ball size lump!! This has now happened 4 times
, each time meant another trip back to the hospital to get it drained,
and still the docs have no idea!! How about you guys ???? • The vascular surgeon has "washed his hands of
him"? Not sure what you mean. That doesn't sound ethical. It's true
that in a percentage of cases,
the radial artery becomes occluded, but this is considered benign, since
it is normally not even noticed by the patient -- this is also why, before
the radial approach is attempted, dual arterial flow in the arm is confirmed. • My partner had this procedure and now has a totally
blocked radial artery; the vascular surgeon has now washed his hands
of him. What can be done as he
is in severe pain ?? • i had an angiogram last Tuesday through my wrist
and although i felt it to be easier than through my groin i have been having
terrible problems with
my arm and my GP believes i have an infection for which i need to take strong
antibiotics. i have some swelling in both the arm and hand, my arm has been
going very hot and very cold and then i get tingly pins and needles type
feeling. i
thought i would be going back to work this week but it's just not possible.
Everyone i have spoken to has had no problem at all am i just one of the
unlucky ones
or has anyone else experienced similar problems? • Since on Coumadin they decided to go thru my
wrist for my latest angiogram. Piece of cake -easier than going to the
Dentist. No stent required and all previous ones (2005) open and working
fine. Out the the hospital within 3 hours post procedure. • Requested this procedure in 1999 prior to CABG
to avoid having to lay on my back for 6 hours--post angiogram experience
much better than femoral artery
site. • I had 2 drug-eluting stents inserted via my right
wrist in Nov 08,at the Freeman Hospital I walked down for the procedure,climbed
up on the bed,lay
down & watched as it (I wouldn't call it an operation) was carried out, for me
it was a "Walk in the park" after about an hour & a half of very interesting
viewing, "I asked for and received 2 before & after pictures" I got up & was
taken back to the main ward, the splint on my wrist was rather uncomfortable
if I moved my arm certain ways "So I didn't" as I have said for me it was "a
Walk
in the park". • I.H. -- thanks for the query. We recently started
a list of hospitals that practice transradial in our Hospital
Locator. There is no listing for a DC-based hospital, but we'll
do some further research into that. There are a couple listings in Virginia,
and also Maryland (e.g., Johns Hopkins). We'll update you on any new information. • Transradial approach for angioplasty - I would
like to find doctors that are skilled in this procedure. I live in the
Washington DC area but would be
willing travel. • G from Arizona -- visit our Radial
Access Center where you will find our new "Radial
Hospital Locator". We see that Good Samaritan Regional Medical
Center in Phoenix is listed. Our listing is not an endorsement of a particular
hospital, only that they have a radial program. And there may well be
other centers in the Phoenix area. Best thing to do is call the cardiology
departments and ask. And let the Forum know what you find out. • Do you have a list of
Interventional Cardiologists in the Phoenix, Arizona area that do Radial
Angioplasty. I do not know how to line up a doctor with this experience.
I would like to have a patient relationship with this doctor in advance
in the event I may need a stent in the future. Thank you in advance. • I have had 4 angiograms performed, one for a
heart attack and had to have my LAD opened, this was done through the femoral
artery, had bruising and slight fever, but recovered well. Three yrs later
had angiogram through the radial artery for a suspicious stress test, appreciated
not having to lay flat for so long and being able to go home, but had a
terrible fever 102 which passed after approximately 36 hrs. Another angiogram
and angioplasty performed via radial artery in 2003 stent inserted to mid
circumflex, again a terrible fever, but recovered in two days. 2007 again
angioplasty performed three stents inserted one regular one to mid circumflex,
2 drug eluting ones to right main artery, took 2 hrs pain, swelling, high
fever, to which every time I was told delayed reaction to the dye, of course
I now know that is a lie, reaction would be immediate. Huge pus pocket
formed nerve in my wrist is damaged I have numbness and pain and loss of
strength in the ability to use my wrist and my artery has closed down half
way down my arm, good thing we have two arteries in our arms. I would strongly
suggest to anyone if you are not having a heart attack, to make sure you
have a second opinion or that the people you are dealing with listen when
you say something hurts you. which I repeatedly did, only to be told later
that I didn't mention this or that. • Found the whole procedure just fantastic. The
only downside I have up to now is that subsequent to the angiogram
I have a coldness or tingling in my
right upper bicep/leg. I have been told that this will go with time. • I has a single stent inserted in August 07 via
my wrist. There was no problem with this, and it has healed well. Like
others , all i could feel was a pushing sensation but no pain. The only
thing that hurt was the injection of
local anesthetic!!! • My mother had 3 stents done this way at Mayo Clinic
in 2002. She was 89 at the time. She had no issues/problems with the procedure.
She is now 94 and
will be undergoing the same procedure again. • I underwent an angioplasty procedure at the wrist
on 14th Aug 07 and had four stents fitted (two being of the drug coated
type). There was no pain at all and only very minor discomfort as the catheter
was inserted, a slight pushing feeling in the arm. The sensation when the
dye was inserted was not particularly
uncomfortable and felt like a "burst" of warmth. The procedure took about two
hours. There was no discomfort on removing the catheter. My right forearm felt
heavy for half an hour and the sealing dressing was removed after about 12 hours.
Only very slight discomfort at the entry site. More pain at the dentist having
a filling. • I had 2 drug-eluting stents to LAD 21st august
2006 (see my post nov 23rd 2006 in "not feeling well after angioplasty")
via the radial approach. Although the
cardiologist was a specialist in the radial approach, I found that the initial
insertion was quite painful. But after that it was almost painless -- just
a bit of discomfort during the rest of the procedure.The big plus point
was
that
I could get up and
walk around without having to worry about bleeding or damaging the wound almost
immediately after the procedure. I would opt to have the radial rather than
the femoral every time (i've had both) if I had the choice. I have only
one small complaint -- I
no longer have a pulse in my right wrist but I think i can
live with that! |
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