New Research Dims Hopes: Stents Not As Beneficial

ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer:

LOS ANGELES - Bypass surgery remains the best option for heart patients with more than one clogged artery, according to the first big study to compare bypass with drug-coated stents. The new research dims hopes that the less drastic stent procedure would prove to be just as good for people with multiple blockages.

In the study, heart attack and death rates were lower among people who had surgery than those given artery-opening balloon angioplasty and stents _ mesh cylinders oozing drugs to keep vessels from reclogging.

Bypass Grafts Versus Stenting: Which is Best?

KEITH J. WINSTEIN writes:

Patients with multiple clogged arteries are better off getting bypass surgery than a stent, a study found.

The analysis, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, isn't likely to settle the dispute between cardiac surgeons, who perform bypasses, and the interventional cardiologists who implant stents. But it gives further ammunition to those who argue that stents -- metal scaffolds that keep arteries propped open -- are overused.

Both procedures fall under the umbrella of revascularization -- attempts to relieve chest pain by opening up arteries clogged by heart disease. In the most severe cases, revascularization has also been shown to reduce heart attacks and deaths.