Do you perform ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) cases with transradial access?
Transradial access is substantially beneficial in these cases. STEMI patients receive a large bolus of heparin in the emergency room and we use GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors in the cath lab. Therefore, they are at high risk of bleeding. At University of Miami, as well as in my previous position at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I have been performing more than 50% of my STEMI cases transradially. Some of our STEMI patients are transported by air from the Florida Keys straight to our cath lab having received at least one bolus of thrombolytic therapy. Therefore, transradial access is very convenient and safe in these cases. Have you noticed a decrease in your bleeding complications? Anecdotally, I believe this is the case. I have not looked at enough of our data yet. There is no question that patient comfort is much better and patient length of stay is much shorter. Equally important, when I go home at the end of the day, I am very confident that patients are not going to bleed a
