Heart Stents Found No More Effective Than Drugs in Prolonging Life

March 26, 2007 — -- Important news for heart patients and doctors -- a new study finds the common heart procedures angioplasty and stenting may be no more effective in treating heart artery blockages than medications alone.

This new information could have a great impact on the millions of Americans living with coronary artery disease, which leads to blockages in the important arteries that help feed the heart and keep it healthy.

Stents are tiny mesh tubes that are placed in arteries to keep them propped open and clear. Keeping arteries open helps prevent angina (chest pain), heart attacks and heart failure.

Current conventional wisdom is that the more proactive treatment of angioplasty and stenting -- now called PCI or percutaneous coronary intervention -- is better than drug treatments at preventing heart attacks and death in patients with heart disease.

But a new large, randomized study sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs involving more than 2,200 patients with recurring chest pain found that rates of heart attack and death were the same in people who had PCI and stents placed when compared with those who were treated only with drugs.

So why were stents not found to be more effective? Researchers speculate that the combination of drug treatments, including cholesterol-lowering and blood-thinning drugs, work quite well and hit the ceiling for therapy. Adding in stents and angioplasty -- while they do not harm the patients -- simply may not add anything to this benefit.

For the complete article from the New England Journal of Medicine click here: Full study

To learn more about stents from the American Heart Association click here.

And what should you consider if you, or someone you know is scheduled to receive a stent, or already have one? Ask ABC News' Medical Editor Dr Timothy Johnson! Post questions here.