Heparinization of Patients Undergoing Coronary Arteriography

To the Editor: We question the conclusion of Walker et al.¹ regarding the routine use of systemic heparinization in patients undergoing percutaneous transfemoral coronary arteriography for a number of reasons. In the first place we believe that the authors' 18 per cent complication rate in nonheparinized patients makes this an unacceptable control group. The 7.4 per cent figure for cardiac complications (1/2 lethal) greatly exceeds the usual 0.5 to 1.5 per cent reported.², ³ In a recent annual review of 445 patients who underwent selective percutaneous transfemoral coronary arteriography at the University of Oregon Medical School, where systemic heparinization was not.