Posted on 09/04/2023 10:26:04 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
After a heart attack it might be worth it to treat constrictions in blood vessels not involved in the heart attack during the first intervention to treat the heart attack. In a large study, cardiologists were able to show this treatment strategy has advantages over a delayed procedure.
A heart attack is caused by the acute blockage of a coronary artery. The affected blood vessels are reopened with an immediate minimally invasive intervention. Half of these patients also have additional blood vessels that are constricted by plaques.
The researchers investigated whether the treatment of constrictions in blood vessels not involved in heart attacks immediately after the re-opening of the vessel causing the heart attack is not inferior to an elective treatment in a secondary procedure.
A total of 840 patients were studied. The patients were randomly assigned. In one group, the treatment of the constrictions in blood vessels not involved in heart attacks were treated immediately, and in the other group in a planned second procedure 19 to 45 days later.
The study showed that 35 patients (8.5%) in the group that was immediately treated, and in 68 patients (16.3%) in the group in which a delayed treatment was performed. Two results were especially notable: Only eight patients (2%) from the first group suffered another heart attack, whereas 22 (5.3%) did in the second group.
Another unplanned ischemia-related intervention was necessary in 17 patients (4.1%) from the first group, and in 39 (9.3%) from the second group. No difference was observed between the two groups in terms of the number of deaths or the number of strokes and hospitalizations due to heart failure.
A strategy of immediate treatment leads to a lower rate of repeat heart attacks and new, unplanned interventions, and the patient is spared a second planned procedure.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Just get it all addressed and cut your risk of another heart attack or other issue by well over half.
“Widening coronary arteries right away after a heart attack: Study shows immediate treatment has advantages”
As opposed to constricting them? Damn geniuses!
While it would indeed seem obvious to do so for all vessels with constriction spots it has not been the practice. All such individual mini procedures for each blockage noted involve some risk of complication such as the vessel rupturing at the spot during the reopening or widening. If that happens the patient may go into Cardiac arrest and not survive. That is bad especially if it happened with a vessel that wasn’t part of the original event. May include legal exposure for suit for taking too much risk for the sake of completeness.
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