Angioplasty improves quality of life

Angioplasty, in combination with drugs, can reduce chest pain and improve the quality of life in patients with heart disease.Past studies have revealed unclear results on improving the quality of life of people suffering from coronary artery disease through percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in comparison to patients treated by optimal medical therapy. American researchers compared the impact of angioplasty in combination with drugs and only drug therapy in preventing deaths and heart attacks in coronary artery disease patients.They studied 2287 patients by assigning them to 2 groups – one with stable coronary disease to PCI plus optimal medical therapy or optimal medical therapy alone. The angina specific health status and overall physical and mental functions were assessed in the participants. In both the groups, treatment was associated with improvements in physical function, angina, treatment satisfaction and quality of life after 3 months.The gap between the treatments in angina relief and quality of life had begun to shrink by the end of 2 years of treatment. By the third year, no significant differences were noted in the quality of life of the participants. The researchers concluded that participants with stable angina, both those treated with PCI and those treated with optimal medical therapy alone, had marked improvements in health status during follow-up. The PCI group had small, but significant, incremental benefits that disappeared by the end of the third year.

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