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Article: Stanford study: Heart bypass surgery vs. angioplasty depends on age, diabetes
- Article from:
- Oakland Tribune
- Article date:
- March 19, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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What type of life-saving heart operation you should undergo --
bypass surgery or angioplasty -- largely depends on your age and
whether you have diabetes, according to the largest-ever assessment
of the two rival procedures.
Though there's been little definitive information comparing the
two, Americans have increasingly preferred angioplasty, which is
considered less invasive. However, the new findings suggest that
bypass might be the better method for diabetics and the elderly.
Stanford University researchers found significantly lower death
rates among patients over 65 or diabetic who had bypass surgery.
Those 55 and younger, however, fared slightly better after
angioplasty.
"You can ...