Many Don’t Try Drugs Before Angioplasty

Many people with stable heart disease don’t get drugs that might prevent the need for a procedure to open their arteries, a new study finds. This pattern persists despite a landmark 2007 study. That study showed that taking three drugs could prevent heart attacks and deaths just as well as angioplasty. The drugs were aspirin, a beta-blocker and a statin. The study was expected to change medical practice. The new study looked at data on nearly half a million people. All had balloon angioplasty — with or without a stent — to open arteries near the heart. More than one-third of the cases occurred in the 18 months before the landmark study. The rest were in the 2 years after the study. Researchers looked at how many people were taking the recommended drugs when they came into the hospital for the procedure. Before the landmark study, 43.5% of the patients were taking all three drugs.