LOS ANGELES (November 5, 2012)--New research finds that by pass surgery is a better option for people with diabetes and several clogged heart arteries than placing stents to prop the arteries open.
Doctors compared the treatments in a study of 1,900 diabetics and looked five years later to see how many had suffered a heart attack, stroke or death.
Only 19 percent of the bypass group had, versus 27 percent of those given stents.
People such as this represent about one-fourth of all heart disease patients.
The results were discussed Sunday at an American Heart Association conference and published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
