Arm pain after angiogram

[Daisyblu]

I had my angiogram using the radial artery on Thursday 5/1. Its now been over 72 hours and I am experiencing pain in my arm from the elbow upwards. Taking paracetamol but any relief is very temporary. Is this common?

[jeanjeannie50]

Hi Daisy

You may get more responses from the BHF forum, lots of people there will have had angiograms. Find them here:

healthunlocked.com/bhf

Jean

[Daisyblu in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thanks Jean. That was really helpful and I found that my arm pain is really common which is very reassuring. Unfortunately it seems the aching can last for weeks!

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Daisyblu]

Hope its soon better.

[fibnum]

I had an angiogram about 3 months ago which was run up from my wrist. (I was fully awake throughout, which was different from the 3 angiograms I had had 10 years ago.)

I did not experience arm pain at any time afterward. I do not say this to alarm you again, but it is good to watch for redness, pain and excessive swelling as signs of possible infection.

I even reported a slight swelling at the insertion site and was told it was fine.

It never hurts to run it by your doctor as well as seeking advice here

[Daisyblu in reply to fibnum]

Thanks fibnum. It seems that this pain is not uncommon and can last a while. No swelling or redness. I know they had to try several different catheters due to the anatomy of my heart so guess it's internal bruising. Hope to speak to my GP to ask about pain relief that is OK to take with warfarin.

[Thecyclist]

Yes I had a similar pain in my arm from mine last year, from the wrist to the elbow and also a bit above the elbow, it was an ache more than a direct pain but quite intense and was only relieved by some pain killers. Happily it went after a few days, maybe a week. The incision point was more troublesome as that was painful for a good month or two.

I think it is pretty normal so nothing to be unduly worried about.