Angiography a pain-free medical boon

It is difficult for many Indians, who have narrow arteries, to undergo angiography, in which a tube (called sheath) and another smaller tube (catheter), together measuring at least 2.8 mm, are
inserted in the arteries.

In a new technique called "sheathless" angiography, which is less painful, the catheter is directly introduced in the arteries. Narayan Gadkar, a doctor from Jupiter Hospital in Thane, near Mumbai, started performing the new procedure in 2010.

Gadkar, among the pioneers of the technique, has done nearly 400 sheathless angiography tests so far, but the procedure is still not well-known.

"Angiography is a medical imaging technique used to visualise the inside or lumen of blood vessels and organs of the body with a particular interest in the arteries, veins and the heart chambers. A pipe-like object known as sheath is inserted in the arteries, through which the catheter, 1.8 millimetres (mm) in diameter, is inserted," he explains.

"But in the method we use, we put in a catheter without the sheath, which ensures one millimetre of less invasion," said Gadkar.

"Traditionally, it was done through groin arteries. The puncture made on the wrist is much smaller than usual," he said. The puncture on the wrist is also easier than the groin procedure, which involves complications like immobilisation, Gadkar added.

Angiography is one of the most widely used methods to diagnose heart problems and blockages at an initial stage but people are afraid of it.