Heart Health
From the wrist to the heart: A safer route for angioplasty?
To open a narrowed or blocked artery in the heart, a doctor’s first step is to carefully maneuver a slender tube (catheter) through a major blood vessel up to the heart. Traditionally, that vessel has been the femoral artery, the large vessel at the top of the thigh. But increasingly, cardiologists are starting at the radial artery in the wrist instead (see illustration).
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About the Author
Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
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