Nitroglycerin Prevents Radial Artery Occlusion

Trans-radial approach (TRA) has becoming popular and widely adopted over the last decade. However, radial artery occlusion (RAO) continues to be one of the limitation of trans-radial access and potentially limits the radial artery as an access site in the future. Several strategies have been used to decrease the incidence of RAO including the use of anticoagulation, maintenance of patency during hemostasis, or shortening the duration of compression. Currently, there is no data whether vasoactive pharmacological therapy such as nitroglycerin administered intra-arterially at the end of the procedure may reduce the incidence of RAO. It is hypothesized that the addition of nitroglycerin (nitric oxide donor) at the end of a TRA procedure may reduce the incidence of RAO.