| Angioplasty linked to higher death
risk in diabetics
By Michelle Rizzo
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Diabetic patients who undergo angioplasty,
a minimally invasive method of opening blocked heart vessels, are
more likely to die in the years following treatment than their peers
without diabetes, new research shows.
"Diabetic patients are known to have reduced survival following...angioplasty
compared with nondiabetic patients," Dr. David L. Brown and
colleagues from Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, write. "However,
it is unknown whether this survival disadvantage has persisted"
into the current era in which new drugs and devices are available
that make angioplasty more effective and safe.
In the medical journal Diabetes Care, the researchers compared
survival between diabetic and nondiabetic patients who underwent
angioplasty for heart disease. More than 4000 patients were included
in the study.
During 3 years of follow-up, 13 percent of diabetic patients died
compared with just 8 percent of nondiabetic patients. After accounting
for other related factors, the authors calculate that diabetics
were 46 percent more likely to die than were nondiabetics.
Diabetics may fare worse because they have more severe blood vessel
plaques than nondiabetics, Brown said in an interview with Reuters
Health.
"These findings suggest that angioplasty...may not be the
best form of treatment for diabetics," he said. "Diabetics
may require more intensive medical therapy or even bypass surgery
to achieve the best long-term outcomes."
SOURCE: Diabetes Care, May 2004.
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