Prevalence and predictors of tortuous radial artery in patients undergoing transradialcoronary angiography

Park, Min Ah; Park, Tae Ho; Choi, Jae Hyuk; Park, Sun Yi; Lee, Su Ee; Lim, Tae Hyung; Yoo, Jung Nam; Cha, Kwang Soo; Kim, Moo Hyun; Kim, Young Dae; Lee, Su Hun

Abstract

BACKGROUND: It is well known that the presence of a tortuous radial artery, in patients undergoing transradial coronary angiography (CAG), may cause undesirable results such as access failure and arterial dissection. Thus, our aim was to investigate the prevalence and predictors of the presence of a tortuous radial artery in patients undergoing transradial CAG.
METHODS
We prospectively investigated the tortuosity of the radial artery in 158 consecutive patients. The tortuosity of the radial artery was determined by radial angiography. A tortuous radial artery was defined as one with a maximal angulation of more than 45 degrees. To determine the predictors of a tortuous artery, we examined clinical and intra-procedural characteristics.
RESULTS
A right radial angiography was easily performed in 154 patients (97.5%) without any complications. A tortuous radial artery was identified in 34 patients (22%). On the univariate analysis, advanced age, female gender, short stature, underweight, hypertension, and absence of progression of the mini-guide wire were significantly associated with the presence of a tortuous radial artery. Significant independent predictors of a tortuous radial artery by multivariate analysis were: advanced age, absence of progression of the mini-guide wire and hypertension.
CONCLUSIONS
These data showed that the presence of a tortuous radial artery could be predicted by advanced age, absence of progression of the mini-guide wire and a history of hypertension. Thus, identification of a tortuous radial artery prior to coronary angiography may be helpful for a safe transradial CAG in patients at high risk for a tortuous radial artery.