Cath Lab Digest Interviews Dr. Michael J. Martinelli

Michael J. Martinelli, M.D.

Dr. Michael J. Martinelli, of Albany Associates in Cardiology, a practice of St. Peter’s Health Partners Medical Associates, was interviewed for the article “Why Radial Access for Complex Coronary Interventions?,” in the October issue of Cath Lab Digest.

In the interview, Dr. Martinelli discusses his approach of using the radial artery in the wrist, as opposed to the femoral artery in the groin, as the access point for inserting a catheter to perform interventional cardiac procedures including angioplasty and stenting.

From the interview:

Q: Can you tell us about your cath lab and hospital?

A: St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, New York is a large, tertiary community hospital serving the greater portion of Northeastern New York.  We have 3 active cardiac cath labs and perform approximately 3,000 cardiac and peripheral vascular procedures. 

Q: What drew you to the idea of using radial access?

A: It seemed intuitive that there may be a safety advantage with radial access, and it certainly seemed to be an excellent bleeding avoidance strategy in the era of more potent anti-thrombin and anti-platelet therapy. I have been performing radial procedures for approximately 10 years and 90-95% of my procedures are via radial access.

Q: What (other) population benefits most from radial access?

A: Patients with potentially higher bleeding risk such as women and older individuals benefit. In addition, obese patients, in whom the femoral approach carries with it a higher risk of access site complications, benefit from both a morbidity and comfort standpoint.

Click here to see the full article.