Blood-flow test helps reduce stents in narrowed heart arteries

William Atkins
Thursday, 15 January 2009 18:58

Science - Health

The MSBNC article added, “Several reports in recent years have suggested that stents and artery-opening angioplasty procedures were being overused in non-emergency cases, often without giving medicine alone a chance to work."

And, "Concern about stent complications also has made doctors more cautious about elective angioplasty.”

Dr. Robert Harrington (Duke Clinical Research Institute) was quoted within the article to have said, “It's really raised a lot of question about when is it appropriate,” adding that the blood-flow test is “another parameter for us to consider.”

Over one million angioplasties are performed in the United States each year.

However, the blood-flow test is only performed in about 10% of these angioplasties.

The researchers state that a follow-up study is necessary to validate their results that the use of the blood-flow test is helpful for identifying when angioiplasty and steins are needed and when they are not needed.

Additional information on the blood-flow test is found in the December 8, 2004 News-Medical.Net article "Noninvasive test of blood flow response may reveal early coronary disease."