Angiography in Wrist
What is Angio from the Wrist?
The use of the radial artery on the wrist for coronary angiography and PTCA (Balloon) Stent procedures was first performed in 1989. In 1996, it was chosen as one of a clinic's "Coronary Angiography" coronary interventions for the first time. Later, other heart clinics worldwide also started to apply this method. Around 500 clinics worldwide use the wrist vein (Radial Artery) instead of the inguinal vein in balloon and stent interventions for coronary vascular angiography.
How Is Angio Performed From The Wrist?
Before the angio procedure is performed on the wrist, the subcutaneous of the patient is anesthetized with local anesthesia. The patient does not feel pain since it has a 3 mm incision.
The risk of complications related to the place of entry from the wrist in the angio procedure is less than 1 percent. After angio, the main thing is compressing the entrance place, which a 3 mm hole opened. Most of the problems caused by the entry place are due to the inability to close this hole well.
Angio Recovery Time from Wrist
Considering the patient's comfort, the things that are a problem for almost everyone, such as the need to lie still in bed and go to the toilet in bed, do not occur in wrist angiography. In wrist angiography, patients walk to the hall where the procedure will be performed and can return on foot afterward. They can take care of their own toilet needs and do not have to be confined to bed for 6 hours, as in the angio from the groin. In wrist angio, patients are only supervised with normal mobility for 3-4 hours.
After an angio attempt on the wrist, the person can walk home. Patients can easily do anything they want, provided they do not strain their arms. All that should be considered is that they should not shower during the period recommended by the doctor and before the bandages are taken off.
Who is Suitable for Angio from the Wrist (Radial Angio)?
Angio procedure from the wrist can be applied to anyone except people who have trauma to their arm after any injury or accident and patients who are on dialysis.
After Angiography from the Wrist
The patients should not strain their arms too much after wrist angio. But of course, they can eat, drink, and use their arms for simple movements. Removing something heavy is not recommended. The aim is to close the opening as soon as possible, even if it is tiny. In some cases, if the patient lies on their arm, bruising may occur in the arm. However, this situation disappears on its own in a short time.
TNo particular feeding regimen is needed after wrist angio. However, if there is a blockage in the veins, a low-cholesterol, low-salt, fat-free diet called a heart-protection diet is recommended. It is also recommended to drink plenty of water after wrist angio. Thus, the dyes given to the patient during the intervention can be easily removed from the body.
Advantages of Wrist Angiography
The main advantage of radial angiography (coronary angiography performed from the wrist) compared to angiography applied through the groin vein is that it reduces the operation risk and increases patient comfort. In the angio made from the groin, patients have a high risk of vascular ballooning in the inlet area of the groin vein, unexpected holes in the arteries and veins, the risk of uncontrolled bleeding in the vein, swelling in the groin area, severe pain and problems restricting patient movement. However, these risks are close to zero in an angiography performed on the wrist. In addition, the risk is much lower because the wrist vein is fragile, and there is a second vessel parallel to this vessel. Even if the wrist vein is blocked, not encountering a severe problem in patients is one of the signs of low risk.
Radial angiography (wrist angiography) is a technique that has found an increasing level of application in the world for the last 7-8 years with such positive aspects. In addition, cardiological diagnosis and treatment methods that are constantly developing today are as follows:
Pediatric cardiology: In children of all ages, starting from the newborn phase, it covers the procedures of non-surgical closure of holes in the heart with all diagnostic and interventional methods. Especially in heart valve stenosis, interventional angiography can be performed without surgery.
Electrophysiology method:It is how heart rhythm disorders can be intervened interventionally.
Echocardiography: It is a cardiological measurement method that can be evaluated at the tissue level and under stress.
Thallium scintigraphy: It measures how the vessels feed the heart muscle healthily. A stress test is performed in real time and provides average value analysis.
Rhythm Holter: It is a method of monitoring the heart rhythm for 24 to 48 hours.
Blood pressure Holter: It is a system for monitoring blood pressure fluctuations 24 hours a day.
MRI devices and cardiac scans : They are examinations used to diagnose and follow up on diseases of the cardiovascular system.
Flat Panel technology: Advanced inspections with a particular X-ray system capable of taking images without using cassettes.
