When a patient is suffering from blocked arteries, stents and bypass surgery is often recommended. However, recent research shows that medical therapy can be used to a greater success. Stenting and bypass surgery have been overused to treat minor cases of artery blockage where medical therapy should have been used.

The new study, Ischemia, showed that the procedures might not be that effective as compared to medical therapy. In the study, patients with narrowed arteries were used. The sample patients had blockage in coronary arteries.The research showed insignificant difference in deaths or cases of heart attack after either undergoing the procedure or those who received medical therapy. A third of patients who underwent stenting ended up requiring another stent after some time.  Results from the study proves that patients may suffer from a series of blockages in the coronary arteries and opening one area may not be enough for the patient. However, medical therapy treats the entire system.

Thus, patients not suffering from emergency conditions should not be exposed to the risks of stenting and bypass procedures. Medical therapy should be recommended in most of the cases. Medical professionals against medical therapy argue that its time consuming and patients need to take medications for a long time. Getting a stent or bypass surgery does not eliminate the need for medication to a patient. After all, patients will be prescribed to take anti-clotting medications after undergoing the procedures.

Patients should be educated as to the benefits of medical therapy over stenting and bypass surgery. One, it is cheap; stenting costs $25,000 and bypass surgery costs $45,000 per patient. Medical therapy is also as effective as the both procedures.

Work Cited

Kolata, Gina. “Surgery for Blocked Arteries Is Often Unwarranted, Researchers Find.” The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/16/health/heart-disease-stents-bypass.html.