Review the efficacy of heart stents
to the New York Times’ article, “Heart stents are useless, but widely used” (NST, Feb 15).
Debate on the medical procedure has been going on for some time. Scientists, based on a study, said “stenting” was the worst chapter in Western medicine and should be stopped.
Thousands of patients with heart conditions have undergone coronary artery stenting because it is a life-saving procedure.
A stent is a small device inserted in a narrowed artery to widen it so that blood could flow to the heart.
It’s a big business for stentmakers.
Last year, researchers from the Imperial College London studied the placebo effects of a coronary angioplasty procedure using stents.
The Orbita trial — a blind, randomised and placebo-controlled study — involved 200 patients with stable angina. Researchers compared the artery-widening technique (stenting) with a simulated procedure, where a stent was not implanted.
The results showed that the treatment did not have any significant additional benefit to patients’ symptoms or quality of life.
The findings, published in British Medical Journal, Lancet,
New England Journal of Medicine, were a great shock to the British, American and Canadian medical fraternities. The news spread like wild fire.
I think this is a serious matter, which should be reviewed and investigated by our health authorities for the sake of public safety.
As an emergency procedure, heart stents may save the lives of critical patients with unstable angina, but they do not prevent heart attacks or help to prolong life.
Reportedly, stents are prone to blockages and a patient can die of cardiogenic shock, where the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs.
Stents can also cause damage to the kidneys.
Perhaps, the Health Ministry could suspend the stent procedure in Malaysia, pending investigations or a medical review.