The "balloon-assisted tracking" technique to preserve radial artery access during percutaneous coronary intervention

Transradial access for cardiac catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention is recommended by international guidelines to reduce vascular complications. Unfortunately, some factors such as female sex, shorter body surface area and older age, were found to be independent predictors of transradial cardiac catheterization failure. The balloon-assisted tracking technique is a smart trick to avoid crossover from radial to femoral access in case of spasm, tortuosity, or stenosis.