title: Radial approach to right heart catheterization: early experience with a promising technique.
abstract: Transradial cardiac catheterization has been historically limited to arterial catheterization. Using small-diameter introducers and catheters, a technique of combined right and left heart catheterization is described using both the radial artery and its neighboring vein. Evaluation of 55 sequential right and left heart procedures showed that it could be accomplished in > 50% using venous access in the forearm. This approach has many potential advantages, although the ability to access routinely both venous and arterial vessels at the level of the wrist is unclear.
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiology, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, USA. icg1@psu.edu
authors.forename: Ian C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Gilchrist
authors.forename: Suleiman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kharabsheh
authors.forename: Michelle J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nickolaus
authors.forename: Rallapalli
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017534:Radial Artery; D012189:Retrospective Studies