2 Studies Disagree on Stroke Prevention

Two new studies disagree on whether two treatments to prevent strokes are equally safe. Both studies were released February 26. Both compared stenting and surgery to open narrowed carotid arteries. These are the arteries in the neck that lead to the brain. Surgery is the older treatment. Surgeons scrape out and remove the plaque that narrows the artery. Stenting is a newer treatment. A small tube is inserted to open up the narrowed artery. An American study found that the two were equally safe. There were more strokes in the month after surgery with stenting. There were more heart attacks with surgery. The study was presented at a conference, the Associated Press reported. The other study was in the journal Lancet. European researchers found that surgery was better.