Costs are expected to grow as baby boomers age and the number of stroke victims increases. If given at the wrong time or to patients with certain types of strokes, the drug can be deadly. Too many get carotid endarterectomy, a surgical procedure to reduce fatty deposits. The balloon procedure used for years to unblock heart arteries is now being tried out to open clogged brain arteries that cause strokes. Doctors at the Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, report the procedure successfully opened up blockages in 18 out of 22 blood vessels in which the technique was tried.
Further study is needed to find out whether it actually reduces stroke risk.
The experimental procedure is possible because the catheters used to get the tiny balloon to a blocked artery are now smaller and more flexible, Dr. Wayne Clark, who led the research said in Stroke. But angioplasty is unlikely to become first-line treatment for strokes, says Clark. Approximately 500,000 people suffer from strokes, or brain attacks, each year.