A Hearty Life

Stents or Drugs? Same Difference

by Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD on March 27th, 2007

Just when we learn that a new generation of heart stents may soon make angioplasty safer, results from the COURAGE clinical trial of over 2,000 patients shows that medication and angioplasty were equally effective in treating stable coronary disease. Called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), angioplasty to treat clogged arteries did not appear to reduce the risk of death, myocardial infarction, or other major cardiovascular events over optimal medical therapy involving medication and lifestyle modifications.

The problem is that many patients may show a blocked artery upon imaging and be referred for angioplasty even if they’ve never experienced any symptoms. Angioplasty does seem to relieve symptoms in patients who have angina or can save the life of those experiencing a heart attack. But for those who are asymptomatic, the following changes for preventing myocardial infarction and death should be considered first:

• Lower cholesterol levels
• Taking aspirin, beta-blockers, and/or ACE inhibitors
• Lose weight
• Quit smoking
• Exercise

New England Journal of Medicine, March 26, 2007
Boston Medical News

*As an aside, don’t you think it’s annoying when people say “same difference”? There is no difference if it’s the same. Or is it the lack of difference that makes it the same?!

HT: Sara

Tags: angioplasty, heart, heart disease, arteries, diseases, illness, medicine, health, stents

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POSTED IN: Hearty Healthcare, Hearty Research