Stent While You Wait

Widening blocked arteries in the neck works well on an outpatient basis, study says

By Adam Marcus
HealthScoutNews Reporter

Related Encyclopedia • Alzheimer's Disease • Aneurysms • Angina Pectoris • Angiogram More... Related Healthscout Videos Custom Ankle Replacements Shutting Down Tremor. Disaster Heart Attacks Teaching Old Docs New Tricks More... Related Animations • Alzheimer's Disease Video Animation • Angioplasty • Coronary Bypass Surgery • Erectile Dysfunction More... Related Drug Information • Accupril • Actonel • Altace • Avapro More... Related News Articles • Drugs Provide Same Benefit as Angioplasty for Diabetics, at Lower Cost • Study: Migraine Raises Risk of Stroke • Low Vitamin D Tied to Estrogen Decline • All Ages at Risk for H1N1 Complications More...

THURSDAY, Oct. 4 (HealthScoutNews) -- Same-day service to prop open plaque-clogged carotid arteries works well and is safe, at least at experienced clinics, a new study says.

New York doctors who perform the procedure, called ambulatory carotid stenting, say patients can be treated in a matter of hours with only local painkiller, avoiding potential complications from anesthesia and saving the financial hurt of an overnight hospital stay.

Text Continues Below

---

"Patients like [the quickie operation] very much," says cardiologist Nadim Al-Mubarak, lead author of the study, which appears in this month's issue of the journal Stroke. "It's a very low-invasive procedure, with no cutting, no anesthesia." And as the new research shows, patients who undergo the outpatient procedure are at low risk of suffering strokes, infections and other potential complications after being sent home.

Stents are metal mesh cylinders that help keep narrowed vessels from choking off blood flow. Stenting arteries has become the standard of care for clogged vessels around the heart, and can greatly reduce the risk of heart attack in patients.

But stenting the neck's carotid artery, the main vessel that supplies the brain with blood, to reduce the risk of stroke is a relatively new technology whose benefits aren't yet certain. In the procedure, doctors thread a stent-tipped tube into the femoral artery in the groin, working it up to the carotid artery in the neck. Once there, they place the mesh tube in the vessel, expand it, and free up blood flow to the brain.

Medicare covers the procedure only for patients in clinical trials approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Doctors who place carotid artery stents fret about two potential complications. The first, and foremost, is neurological trauma, such as stroke or mini-strokes -- also known as transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) -- caused by dislodged plaque that cuts off blood to the brain. These events can be debilitating or even deadly.

Page:  1 | 2 | 3 | Next >>