Metal Stents Can Prevent New Blockages After Angioplasty

Balloon angioplasty to open blocked coronary arteries after a heart attack has proved more successful than clot-busting enzymes, but the arteries tend to become re-clogged. Two new studies in today’s New England Journal of Medicine show that propping the cleared arteries open with metal stents can prevent new blockages, reducing the need for further surgery. In one study, Canadian researchers studied all 9,594 angioplasties performed in British Columbia in 1994-97. They found that the percentage of cleared arteries that had to be opened a second time was 17% in those receiving stents, compared to 24.4% in those not receiving them. A second, multinational trial found that 17.7% of those receiving angioplasty alone had to have their arteries reopened, compared to only 7.7% of those receiving stents.

But stenting, they found, does not reduce the risk of subsequent heart attacks or death.

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--Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II