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Review
. 2019 Oct 18;8(10):1727.
doi: 10.3390/jcm8101727.

Radial Artery Access for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions: Contemporary Insights and Novel Approaches

Renato Francesco Maria Scalise  1 , Armando Mariano Salito  2 , Alberto Polimeni  3 , Victoria Garcia-Ruiz  4 , Vittorio Virga  5 , Pierpaolo Frigione  6 , Giuseppe Andò  7 , Carlo Tumscitz  8 , Francesco Costa  9
Affiliations
Review

Radial Artery Access for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions: Contemporary Insights and Novel Approaches

Renato Francesco Maria Scalise et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Since its introduction, the transradial access for percutaneous cardiovascular procedures has been associated with several advantages as compared to transfemoral approach, and has become the default for coronary angiography and intervention. In the last 30 years, a robust amount of evidence on the transradial approach has been mounted, promoting its diffusion worldwide. This article provides a comprehensive review of radial artery access for percutaneous cardiovascular interventions, including the evidence from clinical trials of transradial vs. transfemoral approach, technical considerations, access-site complications and limitations, alternative forearm accesses (e.g., ulnar and distal radial artery), and ultimately the use of the radial approach for structural interventions.

Keywords: aortic valvuloplasty; distal radial; percutaneous coronary intervention; radial; snuffbox; ulnar.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Arterial anatomy of the wrist/hand and potential vascular accesses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Echocolordoppler image of the distal radial artery.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Vascular access for radial balloon aortic valvuloplasty. (a) Brite Tip 5.5 cm pediatric 8 French sheath (CORDIS, Ireland). (b) regular 11 cm 8F sheath, 5 cm out of the distal radial artery. (c) Vascular access for radial balloon aortic valvuloplasty: “Push and pull” maneuver for balloon retrieval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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