The link between brain and the hand starts right from fetus . It is a well known fact vertebral artery competes with hand blood flow . In the right side , there is one more vascular issue ! .Bracho cephalic artery arises directly from aorta and supplies the right hand and right half of brain.
It remains a mystery why left brain is blessed with a separate origin , while right has to share it with blood meant for hand .It is beyond science . . . isn’t
It is possible the left hemisphere of brain has more purpose to be alive , with bulk of the cognition work to do . Hence God created a separate supply to it ! Of course , he would have never thought , the possibility of his ” mean” creations adventuring within the arterial tree !
Click over the Image for animation
Please remember whenever we play with catheters and wires through radial route , we are hugging and scraping the artery meant for cerebral circulation !
Final message
Femoral Interventions enjoys a proven track record. Currently , radial route has virtually taken over with few advantages . However , the overall stroke risk in the two approaches remain low but genuine (.4 %) .It may be true , arch manipulation is more with femoral but the threat to vertebral and brachiocephalic circulation is more with radial . When the available evidence are not conclusive and new ones are not forth coming . . . it is wiser to rely on common sense !
Reference
I think this 2011 study from the prestigious stroke journal has convincingly answered the issue
It concludes , the right radial approach is indeed risky to develop cerebral micro embolism when compared to right femoral
A Review article in Circulation
Other references
1.http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/38/7/2176.full.pdf+html
2.Transient Cortical Blindness after Coronary Angiography Journal of International Medical Research. 2009;37:1246–1251,
3. Stroke and Cardiac Catheterization Circulation. 2008;118:678–683,
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 