We're all familiar with the use of stents to open a clogged heart artery. That's the procedure former President Bill Clinton just underwent. But how you get to the heart is changing.
Fifty-year-old Rick Augustine is being prepped for doctors to take a look at how the blood's flowing to his heart. "Today I get a cardiac cath to begin with. And if they find a blockage, which they think they'll find, I will get a stent."
Doctors have been doing cardiac catheritizations or angioplasties for decades. But Rick's procedure has a new twist. Instead of gaining access to Rick's heart through the femoral artery in his groin, Dr. Michael Martinelli will go in through Rick's wrist - using the radial artery. "I think it's great from what the doctor tells me, a little quicker recovery."
"It's safer in many instances, and it's all about patient comfort," said Dr. Michael Martinelli, cardiologist. In a catherization a tiny wire is inserted into an artery through a hollow needle. Dye can be injected to see how the blood is flowing. The wrist provides easy access.
If a blockage is found, the doctor can insert a balloon, inflate it and open the artery. Then a stent is put into place to keep the artery open. And they can do it all through the wrist. "There's another artery that has a blockage and we'll fix as well." The patient is awake, but lightly sedated. "It's still an invasive procedure and so we do quote them the same type of risk for the procedure. But once again the bleeding risk is much lower, the risk of a major complication is extremely rare in the radial
artery," added Dr. Martinelli.
Patients are able to sit right up and walk around about an hour after the procedure. Martinelli says, in rare cases due to certain medical conditions, they still have to go in through the groin.
As for Rick, he expects to be back on the job as a mechanical engineer with only a tiny mark on his wrist to attest to the procedure.
