Heart patients treated solely with medications are at an increased risk of dying during the first year following their initial hospitalisation, according to a new study.
The new study has cast doubts on the best treatment elderly with coronary artery disease.
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) - Triple Bypass Surgery
Triple bypass surgery, an open heart surgery involves grafting blood vessels from either the chest or leg onto 3 blocked blood vessels.
Advertisement
"Patients managed medically without stenting or bypass surgery tend to be elderly and frail, and in some sense we feel they have been overlooked," says Matthew Roe, a cardiologist at Duke and lead researcher of the study.
"We wanted to find out what clinical factors were funneling them into a medicine-only group and what happened to them, when compared to patients who received stents and bypass procedures," he added.
![Cardiac Catheterization]( "Cardiac Catheterization")
Cardiac catheterization is a radiological procedure for both diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions. It involves the insertion of a long thin flexible tube called catheter a vein or an artery to the heart.
The team analysed 8,225 patients from a previous study (the Synergy trial), who had undergone cardiac catheterization and had been found to have at least one significant blockage in a coronary artery
The study had compared the effects of two different anti-clotting drugs in heart patients.
About 52 percent of the patients underwent coronary stent implantation to open their arteries, while 32 percent were medically managed, and 16 percent underwent coronary bypass surgery.
The researchers found that the risk of death was highest for the medically managed group and lowest for patients who underwent stenting.
The death rates among medically managed patients increased rapidly during the first three months following release from the hospital, and stayed higher than those in the other two groups.
At one year, the mortality rate among the medically managed group was 7.7 percent, 3.6 percent for patients who underwent stenting, and 6.2 percent among those who underwent bypass procedures.
"It is important to know that the patients in the medically managed group had a higher death rate despite receiving most of the currently recommended medications for this condition from clinical practice guidelines," said Roe.
"What this study tells us is that for these patients who are medically managed, we need to come up with better treatment approaches that lessen their risk of death," he added.
Roe is conducting a new trial that may help in finding possible solutions.
The study appearing in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Intervention.
Source: ANI
SRM
Cardiac Catheterization
Cardiac catheterization is a radiological procedure for both diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions. It involves the insertion of a long thin flexible tube called catheter a vein or an artery to the heart.
Advertisement
The team analysed 8,225 patients from a previous study (the Synergy trial), who had undergone cardiac catheterization and had been found to have at least one significant blockage in a coronary artery
The study had compared the effects of two different anti-clotting drugs in heart patients.
About 52 percent of the patients underwent coronary stent implantation to open their arteries, while 32 percent were medically managed, and 16 percent underwent coronary bypass surgery.
The researchers found that the risk of death was highest for the medically managed group and lowest for patients who underwent stenting.
The death rates among medically managed patients increased rapidly during the first three months following release from the hospital, and stayed higher than those in the other two groups.
At one year, the mortality rate among the medically managed group was 7.7 percent, 3.6 percent for patients who underwent stenting, and 6.2 percent among those who underwent bypass procedures.
"It is important to know that the patients in the medically managed group had a higher death rate despite receiving most of the currently recommended medications for this condition from clinical practice guidelines," said Roe.
"What this study tells us is that for these patients who are medically managed, we need to come up with better treatment approaches that lessen their risk of death," he added.
Roe is conducting a new trial that may help in finding possible solutions.
The study appearing in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Intervention.
Source: ANI
SRM
Animation of heart attack symptoms - Animation
Heart attack can cause symptoms such as Chest pain or discomfort, Shortness of breath and pain in neck, back, arm, or shoulder and is due to blockage of blood supply to the heart muscles
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Readings
Latest Heart Disease News
The number of heart attack fatalities showed a notable increase, declining from 28,579 in 2020 to 28,413 in 2021, then surging to 32,457 in 2022.
Atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm) can be accurately diagnosed with Verily Study Watch, the FDA-approved wrist-worn gadget.
According to health experts, an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and blood clots is associated with higher hemoglobin levels.
Early cardiac evaluation reverses atherosclerosis caused by cardiac risk factors like high BP and high cholesterol in young adults.
PM2.5 increases during winter inversions are associated with higher heart attack risk, stated study.