34 years: That's How Long We Have Known that Heart Artery Stents Don't Work in Stable Patients!
Check out this article. It was published in the leading cardiology journal Circulation in 1988. In this very elegant study, patients had had a previous cardiac catheterization at least a month before their heart attack which was caused by a clot which originated at a site of cholesterol plaque rupture or erosion. There was a catheterization prior to the heart attack and at the time of the heart attack. Most of the arteries involved in the acute event (66%) had less than a 50% chronic blockage prior to the heart attack. In fact, only 1% had a blockage of 70% or greater that is required to merit stent placement. That means chronically blocked arteries with a stent or a bypass cannot prevent a heart attack or sudden death!
The authors concluded: “Because it was difficult to predict the site of the subsequent occlusion in our patients from the initial coronary angiogram, coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty appropriately directed only at the angiographically significant lesions initially present in almost all our patients would not have been effective in preventing the majority of myocardial infarctions. This does not indicate that arteries that do not have obstructive lesions should be bypassed or dilated. Instead, effective therapy to prevent myocardial infarction may need to be directed at the entire arterial tree, not just at the obstructive lesions. Such therapy to prevent myocardial infarction might rationally include avoiding smoking, reducing serum cholesterol, administering agents that interfere with platelet function such as aspirin or, possibly fish oil, and pharmacologic agents to prevent spasm of the coronary arteries.”
The highlighted text above is the first description I have ever seen of optimal medical therapy (OMT) for heart artery disease. This article from 34 years ago proves that opening a blocked artery cannot prevent a heart attack or sudden death. OMT has improved dramatically over the last three decades and there are dozens of trials proving it’s efficacy. We are still opening arteries in stable patients. High quality OMT is still unavailable to most people. Changing that is the goal of this site!
Well, the good old 12-lead EKG, which has NEVER really worked as claimed, is 130+ years old. We are still clinging to it. And people still die prematurely from sudden cardiac deaths.
Yup. That's why I have NOT sent AMYONE to a coronary intervention since 1997! Enough!