Stents and Angioplasty Reduce Mortality by 50%

A new study suggests that the use of stents in reperfusion therapy after a heart attack and angioplasty is associated with a 50% reduction in mortality, compared to balloon angioplasty alone.

Researchers at the State University of New York Stony Brook School of Medicine (NY, USA) retrospectively examined data on more than 6,000 patients who, between 1998 and 1999, presented within 23 hours of acute MI and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention. Stents were placed in 87% of patients. Those who received stents were younger (61 versus 62 years) and were more likely to be male (33% versus 29%). They were all less likely to have had a history of hypertension and diabetes and to have a creatinine level of 2.5 mg/dl or beyond (0.8% versus 2.0%).

Stent use was associated with a significant reduction in length of stay (5.9 versus 8.1 days), major cardiovascular events (4.1% versus 12%), and in-hospital mortality (3.5% versus 9.3%). After adjustment, stent use was associated with a 50% decrease in the risk of in-hospital mortality compared to balloon angioplasty alone. The researchers noted that although drug-eluting stents were not studied, this should not have affected these short-term findings. The study's findings were published in the April 1, 2006, issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

"All patients who present with an acute heart attack should receive a stent rather than balloon angioplasty alone, said senior investigator Dr. David L. Brown. "Treatment with a stent reduced the risk of dying in the hospital by 50%.”



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