Study: Bypass Still Beats a Stent

Bypass surgery is better than a stent for people with severely blocked heart arteries, a new study concludes. But experts told HealthDay News that the choice should be up to the doctor and patient. The study looked at 1,800 people. Half were randomly assigned to receive a bypass. The others had each blockage opened with a balloon and a tube called a stent. About 12.4% of the bypass group had a serious artery-related problem in the next year. This compares with 17.8% of the other group. The problems included heart attacks, strokes and the need for another procedure. Heart attacks and strokes were the same in the two groups. But people who got stents needed another procedure twice as often as people who got bypass surgery. The study appeared online February 18 in the New England Journal of Medicine.