Stents as effective as surgery for clearing neck arteries, study says

While surgical treatment (carotid endarterectomy) has been the gold standard for removing plaque from clogged neck arteries to prevent stokes, a new study shows that the less invasive method of using stents to open blocked neck arteries, can be just as effective, according to WebMd. This new finding could mean that cardiologists now can offer patients two options for treating these problems. The study, presented at the American Stroke Association's (ASA) International Stroke Conference, reported that in the weeks after the procedure, patients who received stents suffered slightly more strokes, and patients who underwent surgery had slightly more heart attacks. However, after an average of 2.5 years, "there was no significant difference in the number of events between the two groups," said researcher Dr.Wayne Clark of Oregon Health & Science University. The study also reported another interesting finding: patients under age 70 appeared to benefit slightly more from stents, while older patients benefited slightly more from surgery. A similar European study presented at the same conference found stenting somewhat inferior to surgery, but one doctor notes that patient selection could have accounted for the disparate results, along with differences in they types of stents used.