Wrist procedure for angioplasty gains popularity

Though the number of doctors who perform wrist angioplasty remains small in the United States—just 1.3% of the one million angioplasties performed yearly in the United States, according to one study—the number is growing as practitioners tout its benefits: less pain, less bleeding, and shorter hospital stays. But surgeons who prefer to stick with the groin call the wrist procedure a ''gimmick'' that takes more time and can't be used in many critical heart procedures.