Heart Awareness program on World Heart Day organised by Fortis Hospital
Author(s): City Air NewsA photograph related to Heart Awareness program on World Heart Day organised by Fortis Hospital, Ludhiana. Ludhiana, September 29, 2015: Heart Awareness program on World Heart Day was organised by Fortis Hospital,...
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Sep 29, 2015 09:30
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A photograph related to Heart Awareness program on World Heart Day organised by Fortis Hospital, Ludhiana.
Ludhiana, September 29, 2015: Heart Awareness program on World Heart Day was organised by Fortis Hospital, Ludhiana in association with Helping Hands Club, an NGO. More than 115 patients and their relatives attended the programme. Programme was held under the supervision of Dr.Sandeep Chopra, Fellow, Royal Perth Hospital, Australia, Consultant Cardiologist. Separate rounds of Interaction were held and a lot of queries regarding Heart care problems were resolved. The whole session was followed by question-answer round on various scenarios of daily life.
Giving information regarding Angiography and Angioplasty through the wrist Dr.Chopra said when a patient has heart problems, diagnosing the cause can be a long, uncomfortable process.
Cardiac catheterization is a method doctors use to perform many tests and procedures available for diagnosing and treating coronary artery disease. The method involves threading a long, thin tube (called a catheter) through an artery or vein in the leg or arm and into the heart. Depending on what your doctor wants done, different things may happen during cardiac catheterization. For example, you may have angioplasty, which uses a balloon on the end of the catheter to open narrowed arteries in the heart. You may also have a stent placed at the time of angioplasty. A stent is a small, mesh-like device made of metal that acts as a support, or scaffold, inside of a vessel.
During these procedures, doctors usually gain access to the heart’s arteries by placing the catheter in the femoral artery ( groin ) and threading it up and into the heart. The femoral artery is a major artery in your groin area. Even though this is the most popular method, femoral artery access can cause many problems, such as bleeding at the puncture site and nerve damage. Also, after their procedure, patients need to lie very still for at least 5 hours
What is radial artery access?
If interventional cardiologists are going to perform your procedure through radial artery access, it means that they will use the radial artery in the wrist as the entry point for the catheter. The cardiologist threads the thin catheter through the body’s network of arteries in the arm and into the chest, eventually reaching the heart. Doctors may also call this transradial access, the transradial approach, or transradial angioplasty.
The Radial Artery Catheterization Procedure
Before beginning the procedure, the physician performing the procedure may test the blood supply to the hand. There are 2 arteries that supply blood to the hand (the radial artery and ulnar artery), and if both are working it is safe to proceed. The procedure can be performed from either wrist, and the physician may have specific reasons to use one side over the other. Both the groin (femoral) and the wrist (radial) may be prepped for the procedure in the rare event that the arteries in the arm do not allow catheters to get to the heart easily and the femoral artery needs to be used. The cardiologist delivers a local anesthetic to the wrist and inserts a short tube (sheath or introducer) into the radial artery. Medications are given through the sheath to relax the radial artery, which may cause a temporary burning sensation in the hand and arm. A blood thinner is also given to help prevent clots from forming in the artery. Catheters are then advanced through the sheath and guided to the heart, and the coronary angiogram (and stent placement if necessary) is performed. Once the procedure is complete, the catheters and sheath are removed from the radial artery, and a compression device is placed on the wrist , which is typically worn for 2 hours. The patient is allowed to sit up and eat after the procedure. It is recommended that no undue stress be put on the radial artery as it heals. Patients are asked to avoid lifting anything heavy (like suitcases or grocery bags) with that hand, but should otherwise be able to use the hand for activities such as eating and writing. By the third day after the procedure, normal activity with the hand can be resumed.
Advantages of Wrist angioplasty
Any catheter placement into a blood vessel is associated with a risk of bleeding. After removal of the catheter from the femoral artery ( groin ), the patient will need to lie flat without bending the leg for 2 to 6 hours to allow the artery to heal. In some cases, even with prolonged immobility, internal bleeding can occur and can be severe enough to require blood transfusions or surgery to repair the femoral artery. These complications are rare, but they may be less common if the catheter is inserted in the wrist. Because the radial artery is much smaller and located closer to the skin surface, internal bleeding is eliminated and any external bleeding can be easily compressed. After the catheter is removed from the radial artery, a compression device is placed around the wrist to apply pressure on the artery, and there is no requirement for the patient to remain immobile.
Patient Satisfaction
Patients who have had an angiogram or angioplasty using the groin approach are very familiar with lying flat in bed for what seemed like an eternity, but patients who have had the same procedure using the wrist approach have a very different experience. They are allowed to sit up, move around and even ambulate immediately after the procedure. Sitting up immediately post procedure is ideal for patients with congestive heart failure, back pain, dementia or the confused patient. Studies have shown that patients prefer transradial access to transfemoral access because it is much more comfortable
Deciding Between the Radial and Femoral Approach
The biggest factor driving the decision to use the radial artery is the physician performing the procedure. The procedure can be more challenging technically, and the physician must have enough experience to feel comfortable with radial procedures. Many physicians are more comfortable with the femoral approach, and will therefore recommend it alone. There are a growing number of physicians , however, who prefer to use the radial artery as their default approach. There are also many physicians who use the radial approach in selective situations where the femoral approach may be more complicated, such as in obese patients or patients with obstructions in the blood vessels supplying the lower extremity. The femoral approach may be selected for patients in whom preservation of the radial artery is essential,
such as patients requiring dialysis fistulas.
SALIENT FEATURES
- Angiography and angioplasty through the wrist
- Patient convenience
- Same day discharge after angiography
- Less bleeding complications
Also present on the occasion were Dr.Harpreet Brar, Admin Head, Dr.Ankush Mehta, Medical Superintendent, Fortis Hospital Ludhiana & Mr.Raman Goyal, President, Helping Hand Club.
Date:
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
