Too Many Stents Being Used in Heart Surgery

Last year, Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific together sold more than one million drug-coated stents. They have become a primary treatment for the number one cause of death in the United States - heart disease.

People with a drug-coated stent seemed unusually vulnerable to blood clots in later years. The new stents solved one problem, but for many may have created another. So the F.D.A. summoned its cardiology advisers to review the evidence.

After listening to testimony, they concluded that for healthier patients with simple forms of heart disease, the benefits of drug-coated stents appeared to outweigh the risks. The picture was less clear for people with diabetes, multiple blocked arteries or other complications.

One study after another has found that whether or not a stent is coated, angioplasty - the process of opening up an artery before a stent is inserted - and stenting do not actually reduce the risk of heart attack or extend life span for most patients. But no federal agency or medical group takes action when an expensive form of treatment becomes far more common than it needs to be - which is a big reason that health care spending is rising so rapidly. (The Ledger)