Risk of acute brain injury related to cerebral microembolism during cardiac catheterization performed by right upper limb arterial access.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The primary objective of this study was to assess the incidence of new cerebral infarcts related to cardiac catheterization in patients explored through the right transradial approach. METHODS: This prospective study involved 41 consecutive patients with severe aortic valve stenosis. To assess the incidence of cerebral infarction, all patients underwent cerebral diffusion-weighted MRI before and after cardiac catheterization through the right transradial approach. RESULTS: We detected only two patients (4.9%) with new, small, isolated acute cerebral diffusion abnormalities postcatheterization. All patients remained asymptomatic. CONCLUSIONS: New cerebral lesions on diffusion-weighted MRI are infrequent in patients explored through the right transradial approach. Randomized studies are warranted to confirm for potential advantages of transradial approach versus the femoral approach in cardiac catheterization.