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CMW News: Drug therapy can be as effective as angioplasty, study finds

Case Management Weekly, August 20, 2008

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About one million angioplasty surgeries are done in the United States every year, each with a price tag of about $40,000. A new study found drug therapy can be just as effective at relieving chest pain in non-emergency cases, eliminating the high cost and the risk of opening arteries during surgery.

The 2,287-patient study revealed patients who turn to drug therapy within six months to three years of experiencing chronic chest pain are no more likely to die or suffer a heart attack than the non-emergency patients who turn to angioplasty for relief.

However, the study found patients with more severe chest pain showed greater improvement with angioplasty or heart bypass surgery than drug therapy alone. All patients with chest pain should be tested to ensure angioplasty can be safely delayed, physicians say.

The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Medical Research Council of Canada, and several drug companies. The study monitored patients at 15 medical centers in Virginia, and at 35 hospitals in the United States and Canada.  

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

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