Radial access is increasingly being considered in neurovascular procedures after becoming
the standard access route in percutaneous cardiovascular interventions. Current barriers
include a lack of dedicated equipment for radial to neurovascular target vessels,
lack of training for physicians and fellows, and physician bias toward femoral access
secondary to greater experience and familiarity. Radial access has been proven to
be safer and the preferred access route by most patients. These two factors make radial
access inevitability when the aforementioned barriers are overcome. The purpose of
this brief article is to highlight some important considerations of radial access
specific to the neurovasculature.
Keywords
radial access - cerebral angiography - complications - interventional radiology
