Quite often, people with heart failure have some degree of blockage of the coronary arteries. In such cases, those who undergo surgery to clear to arteries have markedly better survival than those treated with medication, researchers from Canada report.
"Our main finding," Dr. Ross Tsuyuki told Reuters Health, "was that those receiving revascularization procedures -- bypass surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention (angioplasty, for example) -- had half the risk of dying compared to those who did not."
Tsuyuki, at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, and colleagues used data from the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcomes Assessment in Coronary Heart Disease (APPROACH) study to review the survival rates of 1690 patients with heart failure who had coronary artery disease treated medically and 2538 who underwent coronary revascularization surgery.
According to the team's report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the crude 1-year death rate was 11.8 percent among patients who underwent revascularization compared with 21.6 percent among those who did not.
"We did a number of statistical adjustments to account for differences in patient characteristics and factors which might influence the decision to revascularize, but came up with the same conclusion," Tsuyuki explained.
"All patients with heart failure should be assessed for coronary artery disease blockages and, if feasible, be considered for revascularization," he concluded.
SOURCE: Canadian Medical Association Journal, August 15, 2006.
New Delhi, November 18 -- Since its outbreak in June this year, the H1N1 influenza has taken a widespread toll. With four more H1N1 deaths in India, the toll goes up to 530, as per an official statement.
We seeks happiness even as it continues to elude many of us. However, the fact is that if we focus our attention on other things and not strive for happiness itself, we will experience this emotion more often.
You have just met your Mr. Right and with all your womanly intuition you feel that he is the one you have been waiting for. You are excited, can`t stop smiling and your cheeks turn red the moment he enters.
Disclaimer: The views and ideas expressed by medical experts on themedguru.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. TheMedGuru advises users to check with their certified experts for their healthcare needs.
The comments and views posted by readers are their own and not that of the website or its management. Please see our 'Terms of Service' for details.
Post new comment