Angioplasty Risk and Benefit
The Angioplasty
Risk is minimal compared to the benefits of a coronary angioplasty.
The Benefits of a Coronary Angioplasty
While coronary
angioplasty has consistently been shown to reduce symptoms due
to coronary artery disease and to reduce cardiac ischemia, it
has not been shown in large trials to reduce mortality due to
coronary artery disease.
Traditional
("bare metal") coronary stents provide a mechanical
framework that holds the artery wall open, preventing stenosis,
or narrowing, of arteries feeding critical structures like the
myocardium. Traditional stenting is superior to angioplasty
alone in keeping arteries open.
Newer stents
called drug-eluting stents are coated with drugs that prevent
re-stenosis of the artery. Two drugs, sirolimus (Cypher) and
paclitaxel(Taxus), have been demonstrated effective and safe
in this application by stent device manufacturers and are being
used in the US.
Considering
the Angioplasty Risk Versus the Benefit
The risks of angioplasty include myocardial infarction, cardiac
arrhythmia, bleeding and death. These events, fortunately, are uncommon,
and the procedure is widely practiced. Coronary angioplasty is usually
performed by an interventional cardiologist, a medical doctor with
special training in the treatment of the heart using invasive catheter-based
procedures.
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Heart
