I experienced chest pain and overall weakness while engaging in a strenuous sport. I knew something was amiss, but had time to think about what I should do. The pain subsided after an hour or so, but after some thinking, I decided to go to urgent care. My EKG was normal but one of three heart-enzymes in my blood tested high, which "probably" indicated heart damage.
The urgent care Dr. suggested an ambulance but I opted to drive to my brother's house to have him drive me, which he did.
While in the hospital, the nurses kept saying how high my enzyme levels were. Apparently they were surprised that I seemed OK at the time, with no chest pain, etc. I was monitored overnight and had no issues. The next day the cardiologist on duty seemed very busy, and I was set to towards the back of the line in the triage because I seemed relatively OK. Late that afternoon I taken to a room for what I figured with by some sort of balloon angioplasty. Once the Dr. entered my arteries with the catheter he expressed surprise that everything seemed OK. It seems he had expected to see damage due to the high enzymes. Ultimately he stented one artery that "looked a bit cloudy". I was sent home with the warning that I had to take $400 month blood thinners after the procedure. It always seemed to me that the procedure may have been unnecessary. But, I'm not a doctor. But, truth be told, I'd much rather not have the stent in my body, as it seems more likely to clog. Time will tell.
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I'm 78, had stent put in 2001 to relieve a 92 percent blockage causing angina and it is still working...on 40 mgs pravastatin
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Ahhh, but surgeries generate profits, for the hospital, staff, surgeons, anesthesiologists, et all. We are the "proud" owners of a 100% for profit healthcare system, the only one in existence..
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This is all so strange. Why not add a third group to the study. How about no surgery or stents vs drugs vs a diet of delicious unprocessed plant foods and limited oil. A whole food plant-based diet is proven to reverse heart disease. Proven! No drugs or surgery only a diet of delicious unprocessed plant foods and limited oil and so many diseases will be reversed or the symptoms mitigated. Google Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Michael Klapper or Dr. Neal Barnard. Our medical system is all about big money. The patient getting well is not the first priority. The adoption of proven treatments like a diet of delicious unprocessed plant foods and limited oil will upend the business models of the medical-industrial complex while saving lives and money.
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I have read this twice and it seems to be about a group of coronary patients who have not had a heart attack but show symptoms when exercising. It is not clear why this group was excluded from the trial. It makes me a little nervous to generalise the results.
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@Terry Wilcox I think that is because in patients with heart attack, stenting has good evidence of being significantly
more effective than drug therapy.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders and 1000s of others who have received life saving stents could potentially live past 100 due to timely intervention with stents. This article reporting a large federal study that infers that Drug therapy alone may save lives as effectively as invasive bypass or stenting procedures is highly alarming. I can only hope that the current practice of medicine is not altered significantly in light of this study. Certainly, a careful risk benefit analysis needs to be done of any procedure or therapy before it is undertaken. 5 years ago, I had stents placed in my coronary artery after cleaning the blockage following cardiac catheterization and imaging, they seem to have served their purpose. On the other hand, last month I had one of the most performed surgery, cataract surgery and I was unaware that there was a 1% risk for a short sighted person undergoing this surgery could have a major complication of a detached retina and guess what, I happened to be that unlucky 1% and I am gradually recovering from the surgery to put the retina back in its place. Knowing the risk I may have postponed the surgery until the cataract blocked the clarity of vision. Sen. Sanders heart health from receiving the stents following a heart attack saved his life. I think the decision by Bernie’s cardiologist was timely and appropriate. Stents are modern medicines marvelous success story and should not be brushed aside as nonessential tools in eliminating coronary artery blockages.
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@Girish Kotwal - you don't seem to have understood anything about this study, medical science, randomized clinical trials, relative risk reductions or science in general. Your "careful risk benefit analysis needs" was addressed by THIS study. Please don't talk about things you don't understand - you are welcome to mislead yourself, but not others, with comments such as this.
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@Nobody from California. You seem to have misunderstood my statement of risk benefit analysis and taken it out of context. I was talking about risk benefit analysis on a case by case basis for individual patients and not connected to the study. I have not seen the details of the study. I was commenting on the conclusion of the study that may impact practice of cardiology in the country. Nobody has a right to tell me not to express my practical opinion. Just like you have expressed your response others are free to express theirs.
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