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# What treatment should you use to treat coronary artery disease?
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/coronary_artery_disease_0403120558/
- Published: 2012-04-03T18:51:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:23:15.000Z
- Description: An analysis of 190,000 US patients using Medicare claims and registry data found 20.8% of angioplasty patients died within four years, against 16.4% of bypass patients. Lead researcher William Weintraub said the finding pushes toward surgery, "but not overwhelmingly so."
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Drug, Health News, #vivvo-import

By Maria Cendejas

A study suggests patients with blocked coronary arteries who choose heart bypass surgery may live longer than those who choose a less-invasive stent procedure, Reuters reported.

The study found that of patients who had an angioplasty procedure, 20.8% died in the first four years after treatment. This is compared to 16.4% of those who receive bypass surgery within the first four years of the treatment.

Patients and doctors are likely to choose the less-invasive stent procedure when both treatments are an option. Some research has suggested the two treatments have similar long-term outcomes, while other studies have shown better results with bypass surgery.

The new study, which were presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago, analyzed outcomes for 190,000 U.S. patients using Medicare claims and data from the ACC and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"Combining data from several large databases, we found that survival was better with coronary surgery than percutaneous coronary intervention. It does push the needle toward coronary surgery, but not overwhelmingly so," said Dr. William Weintraub, the study's lead researcher and head of cardiology at Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Delaware. 

“Bypass surgery is not best for every patient. Different risk levels among patients in the data groups may have contributed to the worse outcomes for angioplasty patients in the study,” he said.

Dr. Douglas Weaver, director of the Edith and Benson Ford Heart and Vascular Institute in Detroit, said,“ The study is another piece of evidence in support of bypass surgery. It changes the conversation. I think it will temper the use of stents in patients who are otherwise good candidates for surgery."

Patients who have extensive artery disease, diabetes or challenging vessel anatomy are among those who tend to do better with bypass surgery, he said.

The number of stent procedures being performed is declining, in part due to research favoring bypass surgery but also because fewer people are being diagnosed with coronary disease due to lifestyle changes and better preventive care, said Weaver, a past president of the ACC.

Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific Corp and Medtronic Inc are the leading U.S. manufacturers of heart stents. Johnson & Johnson, a pioneer of the technology, stopped selling heart stents last year after sales declined.