Many patients with severe but stable heart disease who routinely undergo invasive procedures to clear and prop open clogged arteries would do as well by just taking medications and making lifestyle changes, U.S. researchers reported on Saturday.
If adopted into practice, the findings could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year in health care costs, researchers said.
The $100 million government-backed study, presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Philadelphia, is the largest yet to look at whether procedures to restore normal blood flow in patients with stable heart disease offer a benefit over more conservative treatment with aspirin, cholesterol-lowering drugs and other measures.