LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Coronary artery bypass surgery has treated blockage to the left main coronary artery, but angioplasty with coronary stenting may work, says a U.S. study.
The blockage, known as severe stenosis, commonly called a "widow-maker," can result in sudden death.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles reported on the short- and intermediate-term clinical outcomes of 123 patients who underwent bypass surgery, and 50 who were treated medically with angioplasty and medication-releasing stents, also called drug-eluding stents. None of the patients had prior bypass surgery.
"Despite the greater percentage of high-risk patients in the group who underwent coronary stenting, there was no increase in the immediate or medium-term complications compared with the group treated with bypass surgery," said principal investigator Dr. Raj Makkar, director of the Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Cedars-Sinai.
