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HealthWatch: Angioplasty

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Sep 30, 2008 8:13 pm US/Eastern

HealthWatch: Angioplasty

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The most common procedure to open clogged arteries in the heart is angioplasty. While it's safe, complications can arise at the surgery's tiny incision site. Now, a new approach is making angioplasty safer and more comfortable for patients.

"I'm going to have a stent put in. I have a clogged artery behind my heart," patient Louis Cino said.

"This will be my sixth one, every one of them through the wrist," he said.

Angioplasty is a surgical procedure where a long catheter attached to a balloon is used to open up blockages in the heart. The catheter usually is inserted into an artery in the groin, but according to research the new approach, where the insertion is made through the wrist,
results in fewer complications.

"The leg is a problem because there is an increased risk of bleeding complications," said Dr. Howard Cohen, director of cardiovascular intervention, from Lenox Hill Hospital. He performs almost all of his angioplasty operations through the wrist.

Patient comfort may be the greatest advantage. With the old technique, patients may be bedridden for 8 hours waiting for the artery to close. By using the wrist for access, they can be up and moving immediately.

"The artery heals by itself in two hours," Cohen said. "If you ask patients who've had radial artery access and femoral artery access, almost every person would say, 'Well if I have to have it again, I would much prefer to have it from the wrist'."

A simple test is done before the procedure to make sure that the blood flow to the hand can't be harmed. "It feels pretty much normal. There is no pain. You feel nothing at all," Cino said.

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