Background: Radial access is the preferred route for cardiac catheterization; however, small radial arterial diameters can make complex procedures difficult. The assessment of radial artery diameters prior to intervention may be beneficial for the interventional cardiologist. Our aim was to measure the diameter of radial arteries in a study sample from our population, and to analyze the feasibility of using larger sheaths for radial interventions.
Methods: The right radial artery diameter of 100 volunteers was measured using an ultrasound technique. A logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with small arterial diameters.
Results: The average age of our sample was 35 years, 40% were male, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 27 kg/m². The mean right arterial diameter for our population was 2.22 ± 0.35 mm. No strong direct association was found between diameters with age, height, weight, and body surface area. Forty-two percent of the patients had diameters larger than 5 Fr sheaths, 20% of the subjects had a diameter larger than 6 Fr sheaths, and 5% of the patients had diameters larger than 7 Fr sheaths. Logistic regression analysis revealed that female volunteers were associated with smaller arterial diameters (odds ratio [OR], 4.0; confidence interval [CI], 1.51-10.51; P=.005), while increases in BMI were associated with larger arterial diameters (OR, 0.21; CI, 0.07-0.61; P=.004).
Conclusion: Six Fr sheaths can be used in a significant proportion of our population. Careful selection of male patients with a larger BMI may help the interventionist in advance for planning a radial procedure with larger sheaths.