Post-Angiography Care

Post-angiography care is not simply “check the dressing and keep the patient in bed.” The surveillance plan depends on what was done, where the artery was entered, whether a stent was placed, which antithrombotic drugs were given, and the patient’s baseline kidney function. Radial access is preferred over femoral access for PCI because it lowers access-site bleeding and vascular complications; in acute coronary syndrome, it also reduces mortality. A radial approach usually permits earlier movement, but it is not complication-free. Radial artery occlusion is the most frequent post-procedural transradial complication and may be clinically silent because the hand also receives blood through the ulnar artery. Femoral access creates a different hazard pattern. A groin dressing can look clean while bleeding tracks into the retroperitoneum, where it is not visible externally. The patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, symptoms, abdominal examination, haemoglobin trend, and distal limb perfusion therefore matter as much as the puncture site. Serious in-hospital complications after diagnostic left heart catheterization are rare—0.082% in a series of 43,786 procedures—but rarity is not a reason to dismiss a new change. The...