Transradial Access Center for Radial (Wrist) Approach to Catheterization and PCI

News About Radial Access

AimRADIAL Masterclass V + FFR Workshop in Budapest

On September 22-23, 2016, the 5th Advanced International Masterclass on the Transradial Approach will be held in Budapest, Hungary. And this year, AimRADIAL will be preceded on September 21 by a one-day comprehensive workshop covering all aspects of Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) from the basic principles and set-up in the cath lab, to the differences between FFR, iFR, and CFR, a comprehensive review of the clinical study data so far, and finally a look at future modalities, like FFR-CT.

Ferdinand Kiemeneij and Shigeru Saito Honored at EuroPCR for Contributions to Transradial PCI

Drs. Ferdinand Kiemeneij and Shigeru Saito

This year's EuroPCR meeting, the world-leading course in interventional medicine, honored two pioneers of the transradial (wrist) approach for coronary catheterization and intervention (TRI): Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij from The Netherlands and Dr. Shigeru Saito from Japan.

Wrist Angioplasty Sees Unprecedented Growth in U.S.

In the current issue of Circulation, a landmark analysis of almost 3 million coronary interventions performed in the U.S. from 2007 to 2012 concludes that utilization of the transradial approach, in which balloons and stents are delivered to the heart via the radial artery in the wrist instead of the femoral artery in the groin, has increased 13-fold in the past five years.

European Society of Cardiology: Radial Approach Should Be the Default Approach for PCI

The European Society of Cardiology has published a detailed consensus document which recommends that the radial or wrist approach to angioplasty should become the default access method, with the femoral approach to be used as a "bail-out" when radial is not feasible. This is a major change in the techniques utilized worldwide by interventional cardiologists.

Transradial Wrist Angioplasty Saves Money and Lowers Complications Over Groin Access

IVUS image showing stent under-expansion

According to a new cost-benefit analysis of diagnostic angiography, angioplasty and stenting, the use of the radial artery in the wrist instead of the femoral artery in the groin for catheter access results in less vascular complications for patients and significant cost-savings for the healthcare system.... (read more)

20th Anniversary of Transradial Angioplasty: 1992-2012

It was 1992 in Amsterdam that Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij's group first began exploring ways to use the radial artery in the wrist for interventional procedures, such as delivering balloons and stents. They were somewhat limited by the early equipment, but as catheters and stents became lower profile, thinner and easier to manipulate, the ability of physicians to use the radial artery increased. Most devices today can be delivered successfully using the radial artery..... (read more)

SCAI Issues Report on Increasing Use of Transradial Access in U.S., Need for Guidelines on Training and Competency

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention (SCAI) report on transradial (wrist) access for angioplasty is the first such document published by a professional society in the U.S. Lead author, Dr. Ron Caputo, states, "...the radial technique, which many patients find more comfortable, is also safe and effective.... As this technique is used more frequently in the United States, we want to ensure it is used safely and appropriately." The 17-page report covers a wide range of topics, from patient selection to training for cardiologists.... (read more)

A Visual Tutorial to Radial Access

Click thru this tutorial slideshow, created by Dr. Mauricio G. Cohen, now Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine..... (read more)

TCT Presentations from the Archives:

Multimedia Symposium: Transradial Access: The Advantages to You, Your Patient and Hospital
This event was originally held on October 16, 2008 as part of the 2008 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting in Washington DC. The panels consists of Dr. Jeffrey Popma, Dr. Ramon Quesada, Dr. Ron Caputo and Dr. Shigeru Saito.

External Reference Material and Bibliographic Link

A listing of journal articles and links about radial access and related topics. These are provided as a service by Angioplasty.Org, which is not responsible for the content on any external sites..... (read more)

News
Breaking news, original reporting and links to transradial access-related news stories.

•	Transradial Wrist Angioplasty Saves Money and Lowers Complications Over Groin Access
•	Cost Effectiveness of Wrist Angioplasty from Japan (video)
•	RIVAL: Angioplasty from the Wrist Safe and Effective
•	Does Less Angioplasty in Women Having a Heart Attack Lead to Worse Outcomes?
•	Transradial Wrist Angioplasty Safe and Effective in Treatment of Heart Attack
•	Angioplasty from the Radial Artery in the Wrist is Safer, Says Study of 600,000 Patients
•	Wrist Angioplasty Associated with 50% Less Blood Transfusions and Lower Mortality
•	Angioplasty from the Wrist: Transradial Approach Offers Benefits to Patients and Physicians
•	Click Here for All Transradial News!

Interviews with the Radial Experts

Transradial Approach to Chronic CTO Lesions
Dr. Yutaka Tanaka discusses his group's recent study on the feasibility of the transradial approach in treating complex chronic total occlusions (CTO)..... (read more)

Transradial: From Physician-Centered to Institutional
Dr. Ron Caputo discusses how transradial has changed in the past 5 years from "evangelical" didactic lectures to mentorship and adoption by hospitals for economic benefit and improved patient care..... (read more)

20 Years of Transradial Intervention
Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij, the "father of transradial intervention, " talks about the history, current status and future of TRI in the 20th anniversary two-part interview.... (read more)

Save Money and Reduce Complications with Wrist (Transradial) Approach
Dr. Richard Heuser discusses his upcoming course on wrist (transradial) access and why it is better for patients and may be able to impact rising healthcare costs in the U.S.... (read more)

Growing Economic Advantages of the Radial Technique
Dr. Jack Hall reviews the evolution of the transradial (wrist) technique, its implications for patient care and the potential economic benefit for healthcare in the U.S.... (read more)

Wrist Approach Preferred for Treatment of Heart Attack?
Dr. Sameer Mehta is a pioneer in the treatment of heart attacks using percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and has done groundbreaking work on shortening door-to-balloon times. His LUMEN course, now in its 10th year, is featuring the transradial approach for the first time.... (read more)

"Patients are My Best Advocate, Best Marketing Tool for Transradial"
Using the transradial approach has made a major difference in Dr. Sanjay Patel's Houston-based practice. 2 years ago no one in his hospitals was doing radial procedures; today Dr. Patel runs monthly training courses... (read more)

Moving Hospital from 5% to 40% Transradial in Six Months
Dr. Sunil V. Rao, Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab at the Durham (NC) VA Medical Center and author of a landmark study about transradial, discusses the current status of this approach in the U.S. and its growth... (read more)

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Wrist Approach for Women: Lower Bleeding Complications
Dr. Jennifer Tremmel is Clinical Director of Women's Heart Health at Stanford Clinic. Within 6 months of learning the radial technique , she was doing 100% radial, reducing complications from bleeding to near zero.... (read more)

Being Able to Offer Transradial is "Huge Competitive Advantage"
Dr. Mehrdad Saririan of Phoenix Dr. Saririan is a self-confessed radial evangelist, Saririan taught the technique to his chief and together they currently perform over 80% of their cases from the wrist.... (read more)

Avoiding Radial Artery Occlusion
Dr. Samir B. Pancholy has written extensively on avoiding and dealing with radial artery occlusion, one of the few complications seen in the transradial approach.... (read more)

Advances in Equipment Have Made the Procedure "Friendlier"
Dr. Tak W. Kwan discussed how new catheters and equipment have made transradial easier to do and more successful in a wider range of patients.... (read more)

Training the Staff is Key
Dr. Mauricio G. Cohen heads the cath lab at University of Miami and knows that learning how to perform transradial procedures is one thing, but teaching your support staff is critical to your success.... (read more)

Importance of Having a "Community of Radial Physicians"
Dr. Shigeru Saito was the first cardiologist in Japan to perform angioplasty from the wrist. Since then, the procedure has spread rapidly.... (read more)

A Radial Team
Drs. Howard Cohen and Kirk Garratt practice at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, where the first angioplasty in the U.S. was performed...and they are dedicated "radialists".... (read more)

How to Learn the Transradial Technique
Dr. John T. Coppola has been offering courses in the transradial technique ever since he learned it himself. He has specific thoughts on how to best learn this technique.... (read more)

Reduced Vascular Complications and Happier Patients
Dr. R. Lee Jobe, Chairman of Invasive Cardiology at Wake Heart in North Carolina, is part of a dedicated radial practice.... (read more)

Why I Started Doing Angioplasty from the Wrist
Dr. Jeffrey J. Popma learned the radial technique from his colleagues and has found it offers definite plusses.... (read more)

What is the Transradial (Wrist) Approach?

First described in 1989, the use of the radial artery in the forearm for angiography and angioplasty offers a lower complication rate and a higher degree of patient comfort. Widely used in Europe and Japan, the transradial approach is starting to gain popularity among physicians in the U.S.... (read more)

Radial Hospital Locator
For Patients: If you are in the U.S., find a hospital near you where angiograms and angioplasty are performed through the wrist.
For Doctors: To list your practice or hospital on our Locator, sign up here....

A Patient's Experience:

"...the [angioplasty stent] procedure was carried out through the radial artery in my right wrist. I felt absolutely nothing during the whole procedure and have had more trauma and pain visiting the dentist. A 3 centimetre by 3.5 millimetre stent was inserted at 1.30pm and I walked out of hospital with my wife at 7.00pm feeling very well with no pain and no wrist bleeding. A brilliant job!" -- as posted by GeoffH, Cheshire, UK, February 26, 2011 in Angioplasty.Org's Patient Forum on "The Radial Approach"

Quote of the Month
“We've actually noticed in the last two years a dramatic increase in the number of...patients who come to us asking for the radial approach. I think these patients talk to each other in the waiting room. And they hear from...other patients how comfortable this was and how easy it was to go through PCI with the radial approach: they're able to get up, they're able to eat right away, they didn’t have to lie in bed -- so we've seen a dramatic increase in patients coming in and asking for it.”

-- Sunil V. Rao, MD, FACC
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
Director of Cardiac Cath Lab
Durham VA Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina

Learning from Patients:

Angioplasty.Org hosts a Patient Discussion Forum for topics in interventional cardiology. In some of the most posted-to threads, patients discuss experiences and complications they have encountered , usually involving femoral access (groin/leg). While these postings represent a small percentage of all catheterizations performed, it is instructive to read these stories.

•	Patient discussions about the radial approach are posted here
•	Stories about access site complications from femoral catheterization or angioplasty are posted here
•	Comments from patients who have received Angio-Seal, StarClose or other femoral Vascular Closure Devices are posted here

This special transradial section is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from:

Visit Medtronic's website for more information on stents and other pioneering therapies. Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the global leader in medical technology – alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world.