How long post cath is there risk for bleeding at the site?

Specialties Cardiac

Published

I was just curious how long there is a risk for bleeding at the site post cardiac cath. Is it possible that a patient could develop a hematoma 3 days later? What would this site look like? Thanks for all your input!

Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry/PCU, SNF.
I was just curious how long there is a risk for bleeding at the site post cardiac cath. Is it possible that a patient could develop a hematoma 3 days later? What would this site look like? Thanks for all your input!

The odds of developing a hematoma 3 days out is fairly slim, but if by chance the MD accidentally created a pseudo-aneurysm during the procedure it could manifest itself later like that. Usually a hematoma is a firm/hard lump, sometimes ecchymotic, sometimes not. The lump may differ in sizes depending on how bad the leak is. There is always a small chance of bleed from a cath site, you did just have a large bore hole placed into it afterall.

Hope this helps a bit.

Tom

Specializes in Emergency.

Hi,

I am a cardiac nurse on a tele unit. We get tons of post cath patients. We instruct patients to not lift anything over 25lbs for 1 week post cath, but other than that it is usually 24 hour restriction on things like showering, excercise, driving, etc. Also avoid the Valsalva maneuver (i.e. straining for a BM), as this increases the likelihood of a rebleed.

To answer your question...yes a patient could have manifestations of a bleed at the cath site 3 days later, but Spatialized is right in that it has probably been bleeding under the skin since the cath. A pseudoaneurysm is painful to the touch and movement, the site is very bruised and may or may not feel like a hard knot at the site.

Hope this helps.

Amy

We had a pt ambulating 3 days post cath, doing great, site clear and soft, no signs anything would go wrong, and right there in the hall he started spurting from the site.

Specializes in all things maternity.

I have had 5 cardiac catherizations with 3 stents being placed in the last 5-6 years. I have a very aggressive form of CAD according to my cardiologist. I can have a nearly clear artery at one check and have a 95% blockage at my next check in 6 months if I do not stay strictly on point with my diet and exercise program. At my fourth cardiac cath, I developed a huge hematoma at the site about 2-3 days out. It was very painful, swollen and bruised and I could feel this huge knot under the skin. I could not walk for almost 2 weeks due to sharp stabbing pain that ran down the inside of my thigh each time I tried to walk. The rest of my leg stayed numb for weeks after and until to this day I have a numbness that comes and goes in my anterior thigh. My cardiologist thought it was a psuedo-anuerysm and ordered a stat doppler study which confirmed the presence of the hematoma. He told me I had a huge blood clot lying across my femoral artery and my femoral nerve. It dissolved after time and I recovered with a definate fear of having to repeat this anytime in the future. I did have my fifth cath procedure just a few months ago and had no problems. Anywoo, what I wanted to say is that I believe all sorts of complications can start several days post cath and patient education of what is normal and not normal is very important. I started my trek down complication avenue with the appearance of a little painless knot in my groin.

Sorry for the "book". I do not post here often but I do like to talk. LOL!

:typing

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