El Campo Memorial Hospital performs radial artery (wrist) access cardiac catheterizations at El Campo Memorial Hospital. This technique allows a safer and more comfortable and convenient option for patients at MidCoast Health System and El Campo Memorial Hospital.
The El Campo Memorial Hospital has a cardiac catheterization lab (also known as a cath lab) where doctors perform minimally invasive tests and procedures to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease.
The procedures performed in a cardiac cath lab almost always involve tiny, flexible tubes, called catheters, which can be used instead of surgery, to access the heart and blood vessels.
A cath lab has special imaging equipment used to see the arteries and check how well blood is flowing to and from the heart. This information helps the care team to diagnose and treat blockages and other problems in the arteries.
One goal of the cardiac team is to find a shorter path to access the heart during catheter-based procedures. Rather than the standard route through a large artery in the groin, innovative providers are using a small artery in the wrist as the entry point whenever possible — a technique called “radial artery access” or Transradial Access.
Why use the radial artery access for a heart cath?
Research increasingly shows that the wrist approach is associated with fewer complications and a better patient experience.
- The wrist approach involves less and more controlled bleeding, fewer complications
- Transradial access is easy to see and compress; visible blood loss if any
- The patient is able to sit up immediately after the radial procedure
- Shorter recovery time
- Patients experience fewer strokes and heart attacks following this procedure vs. the groin approach
In summary, the radial approach is more comfortable and safer for patients. Patients overwhelmingly consider this procedure as favorable.
For an appointment in the El Campo Memorial, MidCost Cath Lab, call 979-578-5228