Thescopeofinterventionalcardiologyhasrapidlyexpandedoverthelastseveraldecades.Inafieldwhereproceduraltreatmentoptionsforavarietyofcomplexcardiovascularconditionshavegrownexponentially,theimportanceofproceduralsafetycontinuestocometotheforefront.Thisismostevidentinthemovementtowardradialaccessastheinitialapproachforoperatorsinthecardiaccatheterizationlaboratory.Astheevidencegrowsforthesuperiorityofradialaccessoverfemoralaccesswithregardtoreducingbleedingeventsandimprovingclinicaloutcomes,wediscussthemodernapproachtoobtainingaccess,andhighlightbestpractices.
