Faced with a heart problem, surgery and drug treatments would also be effective. This is revealed by a study presented on November 16 at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association.
Leading cause of death “in developed countries” according to the High Authority for Health (HAS)stable coronary artery disease – also called ischemic heart disease – is the most common heart condition in humans.
“It is characterized by a generally atheromatous narrowing of the coronary arteries, explains the organization. Two symptoms characterize it: angina pectoris and acute coronary syndrome (ACS), with or without myocardial necrosis. Sudden death and heart failure are the two main complications of stable coronary artery disease.”
A study conducted on 5,179 people
To determine the best way to treat high-risk patients with this condition, researchers worked with 5,179 people with severe ischemia (poor blood flow to an organ) or moderate. While all of the participants received drug treatment, half also underwent invasive procedures, such as aortic stenting and aortic bypass surgery.
Result: theISCHEMIA studypublished in the National Clinical Trials Registry ClinicalTrials.gov and presented on November 16 at the annual congress of theAmerican Heart Associationshows that patients have the same chances of survival whether they have taken medication or undergone surgery.
“There is absolutely no risk in trying the drugs”
“If you go to the big medical centers that do these procedures, you really don’t talk to anyone, and they tell you that after a very abnormal stress test, you have to hurry to schedule a cardiac catheterization (an operation consisting of introducing a catheter into the heart and its peripheral blood vessels, editor’s note) because people were afraid of being at imminent risk of a heart attack or sudden death,” said Judith Hochman, vice-
However, according to the scientist, the work carried out shows “that there is absolutely no risk in trying the drugs”. “We want patients to understand that it’s normal to lay down and there’s no rush to undergo surgery,” added David Maron, one of the scientists in charge of the study, and the director from the preventive cardiology department at stanford university. His colleague, cardiologist John Spertus, also a member of the research team, insisted on the slow evolution of practices.
“It’s incredibly important to improve patient outcomes at a lower cost”
“Physicians have very strong emotional beliefs and they practice in a way that has been sending these patients straight to the cardiac catheterization lab for generations, and that’s not going to change overnight,” Spertus said. In this age of trying to improve the value of healthcare in this way, I find it incredibly important to improve patient outcomes at lower cost.”
Below the interview of Doctor Michel Zietouni at the American Congress of Cardiology (AHA)
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