New approach to angiograms give more comfort to patients
After being wheeled into the Methodist Hospitals’ Emergency Room in the middle of the night, Gary resident Booker King, a recent heart attack victim, was surprised to find himself able to sit up, eat and be comfortable so soon after lifesaving angioplasty.
Angiography is performed via cardiac catheterization to look for blockages in the arteries that supply the heart with blood. It is performed when patients have heart attacks, show symptoms of worsening coronary disease, have a positive stress test with symptoms, or have known coronary disease and are displaying symptoms.
Interventional cardiologist Anas Safadi, M.D., explains that a new approach, called Transradial Angiography (TRA), results in a much more comfortable and safer patient experience.
“Unlike the traditional angiography that is performed through the femoral artery in the groin, TRA allows us to insert the catheter through the blood vessel in the wrist,” Dr. Safadi said.
Over the last 10 years this technique has gathered increasing popularity, particularly in Europe and Canada. It has gained momentum in the U.S. over the last two to five years. Methodist Hospitals’ cardiac catheterization laboratory is among the first in the nation with significant experience in TRA.
“It is my preferred method for many compelling reasons,” Dr. Safadi said. “Most importantly, patients recover quicker, have fewer bleeding complications requiring transfusion and shorter hospital stays.”
According to Dr. Safadi, TRA is suitable for more than 90 percent of his angiogram patients.
“I insist on using the most advanced techniques available to promote greater comfort and reduce the potential for vascular complications,” Dr. Safadi said. “That’s why I perform angiograms using the TRA approach.”
Provided by Methodist Hospitals