Transradial right and left heart catheterizations: a comparison to traditional femoral approach.

Objectives: This study compares the transradial versus transfemoral approach to combined right- and left-heart catheterization.

Background: Central venous access from peripheral veins has been a historically useful technique. Although the need for right-heart catheterization has been considered an exclusion for transradial catheterization, we have combined a peripheral approach to the central venous system with radial arterial access which permits bilateral heart catheterization using a transradial approach.

Transradial bilateral cardiac catheterization and endomyocardial bioposy: a feasibility study.

A case series and technique of transradial cardiac catheterization with cardiac biospy are described. Transradial cardiac catheterization is perceived to be limited to arterial procedures. Using the veins of the forearm, we have converted many previous femoral arterial/venous cardiac procedures to a transradial/forearm approach.