Another new intervention is the use of radiation therapy for the arteries to clear blockages and decreases blockages that recur. However, the most anticipated breakthrough is the ability to treat coronary artery disease before it occurs, which is the goal of many researchers and projects under way in laboratories around the world. Kitten said his group of cardiovascular surgeons performs around 400 bypass procedures a year, a number he said was fairly low when compared to the number of procedures performed in major heart centers around the country. We really don't want to perform angiograms on a high percentage of patients who will not have blockages,'' he said. When problems are found, the physician and the patient consider the options to determine which therapy is best.
Some medicines are very effective.
The physicians hasten to point out that bypass surgery is not the only option. We do angioplasties, using balloons and stents and effective methods of removing material from the artery,'' Uretsky said. We're also using combinations of the various approaches to not only prolong life but to improve the patient's lifestyle.'' At the UT HeartCenter, it is anticipated that 400 to 500 bypass surgeries will be performed this year. Another 600 to 700 interventions will be necessary including angioplasties, stents and other procedures. In the larger heart centers, it is not unusual for those centers to perform 1,000 bypasses in a year, along with 2,000 to 3,000 angioplasties.