Higher carotid stenting, poorer outcomes

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers link increased use of carotid arterial stenting to poorer outcomes such as heart attack and stroke.

The study, published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, associated carotid arterial stenting -- a procedure treating the narrowed neck artery to increase blood flow to the head -- to higher death rates and adverse clinical outcomes, including heart attack and stroke.

The researchers attribute worsened clinical outcomes to the greater number of procedures done -- going from 266 to 1,015 per month after the procedure was covered by Medicare in 2005.

Lead author Dr. Peter Groeneveld of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine said carotid arterial stenting is often the only option for patients who are not healthy enough to undergo surgery. However, the state of health of the patients may inevitably affect clinical outcomes from the procedure, Groeneveld said.

"Nevertheless, stenting should remain a viable and effective treatment option that doctors and patients consider judiciously," Groeneveld said in a statement.