Angioplasty Patients at Smaller Hospitals Experience Equally Good Outcomes

Patients who had non-emergency artery-opening angioplasty or stent implantation at hospitals without heart surgery capabilities fared as well as those in hospitals that did, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011.

In a study from the Cardiovascular Patient Outcomes Research Team, researchers randomly assigned 13,995 patients to have their procedure done at a hospital with cardiac surgery capabilities and 4,523 patients at hospitals without. The 60 hospitals without cardiac surgery capabilities had to be able to perform at least 200 angioplasties or stent implantations annually. In addition, physicians doing the procedures were required to have performed more than 75 cases annually. All centers underwent a formally developed percutaneous coronary intervention program.

 



The death rate after six weeks was almost the same for each group ― just under 1 percent. Furthermore, neither group was more likely to need emergency heart bypass surgery. Researchers said regional healthcare planners can use the data from the study to make informed decisions about which hospitals should have PCI capability, with the aim of improving quality, improving access and lowering costs.

Early next year, researchers will have data revealing patients' outcomes nine months after their procedure in order to assess the overall effect of these two systems of care on ultimate patient outcomes.

Related Articles on Angioplasty:

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