TY - JOUR T1 - Vascular access and closure for cardiovascular intervention JF - Heart JO - Heart SP - 1279 LP - 1288 DO - 10.1136/heartjnl-2018-313049 VL - 105 IS - 16 AU - Stephen H Dorman AU - Daniel R Obaid Y1 - 2019/08/01 UR - http://heart.bmj.com/content/105/16/1279.abstract N2 - Learning objectivesTo choose the most appropriate access site for a cardiovascular intervention.Learn how to gain access and achieve closure of the radial and femoral arteries.Learn how to minimise vascular complications.Selective coronary angiography initially required surgical cut down to access the brachial artery.1 Subsequently, in 1967 Melvin Judkins described a direct percutaneous approach via the femoral artery,2 an easily palpated vessel with high procedural success that would go on to become the default arterial access route. However, despite decades of experience with femoral access, vascular complications and bleeding remain a concern and are still a significant cause of mortality in cardiovascular intervention.3 Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) via the radial artery was first described by Kiemeneij in 1993,4 and early studies appeared to show a virtual elimination of access site complications.5 Initially the technique remained a niche interest of early radial pioneers, but usage in the United Kingdom has increased from 14% in 2005 to 84% in 2016 replacing the femoral artery as the most popular access site for intervention.6 Selection of radial or femoral arterial accessRadial artery access reduces vascular complications across all patient groups7 and is now recommended as the standard route for PCI.8 However, there are groups where the benefit is more pronounced. The superficial course and small calibre of the radial artery simplifies haemostasis allowing early ambulation9 and reducing cost10 making it ideal for patients who cannot tolerate prolonged bed rest, on anticoagulants or are undergoing PCI in the day case setting. A mortality benefit for radial access has been shown in patients with acute coronary syndrome and ST elevation myocardial infarction in both large randomised controlled trials11 and meta-analysis12 making this a strong indication for radial PCI. However, there remain procedural reasons when femoral access is required (large-bore access for transcatheter … ER -