More Repeat Procedures With Angioplasty

Surgery and angioplasty unclog arteries equally well. But angioplasty may not last as long, a new study finds. Bypass surgery reroutes blood around clogged arteries. Angioplasty flattens the blockage with a tiny balloon. Then a tube called a stent is used to prop open the artery. The new study included about 3,000 people with blocked arteries. More than 1,200 needed a specific procedure. The others were randomly assigned to one or the other. In the next year, about 14% of those who had angioplasty needed another procedure. So did about 6% of the surgery group. The Associated Press wrote about the study September 2. Results were presented at a heart conference.