Each year, more than one million cardiac catheterizations are performed in the United States, and most of these procedures are performed through the groin to access the arteries that provide blood supply to the heart. Now, interventional cardiologists at the Stony Brook University Heart Center and elsewhere are performing more heart catheterizations by going through the wrist instead of the groin. Called “transradial access,” this emerging approach has increased advantages for patients, including reduced complications, increased patient comfort, and quicker recovery time.
