Stents are safe after heart attack, study finds
Most heart attack patients can safely undergo angioplasty followed by placement of a stent, a metal device that keeps arteries open, according to a new study. In the past, some patients were not given stents for fear of blood clot formation on the device. The study of 312 patients from The Cardiovascular Institute in Mountain View, CA, found that only 2% to 4% had another heart attack or recurrent ischemia within 30 days of having the stents placed after angioplasty. Fewer than 1% of patients died after the procedure.
The authors caution that past studies have found the success rate of angioplasty often depends on the expertise of the doctor performing the procedure. "Stenting is technically more demanding than angioplasty, and meticulous attention to detail is mandatory to reproduce the results," the report says.
Even with experts performing the technique in the study, there were still complications. One patient required an emergency bypass, and seven needed additional unplanned stents to prevent weakening of the blood vessel wall. Two patients needed repeat procedures after blood clots formed.
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