Summary

The RIVAL study demonstrated that the transradial approach for percutaneous coronary intervention was as safe and effective as the transfemoral but was associated with a lower rate of vascular complications. Importantly, the effectiveness of the transradial approach was related to procedure volume and previous experience. The Czech PCI Registry found that the incidence of 30-day death was lower with the transradial approach in patients with STEMI and NSTEMI.