NEW YORK, May 26 (UPI) -- A major study has found open-heart bypass surgery poses less risk of death over the long term for patients than the more popular stent procedure.
The study, released by the New England Journal of Medicine, says the stent-and-angioplasty procedures to treat blocked arteries aren't as effective as bypass for the sickest patients, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The findings were based on a review of about 60,000 patients with serious heart disease in two government databases in New York State.
Researchers said those with three blocked arteries who got stents were 1.56 times as likely to die within three years as those who had bypass surgery. Those with two blocked arteries who got stents were 1.33 times as likely to die as those who had bypass surgery, the Journal reported.
Stent makers say their newer generation of drug-coated stents will improve the outcome for angioplasty.
