Authors

• Sanda Surina — University Hospital Centre Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0001-6914-0990
• Ana Traub — University Hospital Centre Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0002-7601-587X

Keywords

coronary angiography, radial artery access, health care

DOI

Full Text

Coronary angiography is an invasive diagnostic method which uses a method of contrast radiography for the visualization of the coronary arteries that supply the heart with blood. (1) Although the technique is known since the 1970s, only in recent years the procedure is increasingly performed through the radial artery of the left or the right hand. (2) The frequency of this access in the University Hospital Rijeka is increasing. The procedure is comfortable for the patients because the sheath is removed from his hand immediately after the procedure. After the removal of the sheath, on the puncture point is positioned a plastic bracelet, which is removed after three to four hours. There is no need for the patient to rest still on his back, and he may be discharged from the hospital a day earlier than after the classical coronary angiography performed thru the femoral artery. Complications due to potential bleeding are also less dangerous. This paper aims to show the role and importance of nurses before and after the procedure of transradial coronary angiography and how this variant of the procedure is better and more comfortable for the patient.

Literature

1. Morton J. Kern. The Cardiac Catheterization Handbook. 5th Edition. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2011.
2. Jen HL, Yin WH, Chen KC, Feng AN, Ma SP, Cheng CF, et al. Transradial approach in myocardial infarction. Acta Cardiol. 2011;66(2):239–45. https://doi.org/10.2143/AC.66.2.2071257