PCI beats medical tx in stable ischemic heart disease

(HealthDay)—For patients with stable ischemic heart disease (SIHD) and objective evidence of ischemia, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with lower mortality than medical therapy (MT), according to research published in the May 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

Hemal Gada, M.D., M.B.A., from the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J., and colleagues examined whether PCI improved mortality versus MT in patients with objective evidence of ischemia assessed using noninvasive imaging or its invasive equivalent. The authors performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from three randomized controlled trials involving 1,557 patients followed for an average of three years.

The researchers found that PCI correlated with lower mortality versus MT (hazard ratio, 0.52; P = 0.02). In the trials included in the meta-analysis there was no evidence of study heterogeneity or bias.

"In conclusion, this study provides insight into the management of a higher-risk SIHD population that is the focus of the ongoing International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches trial," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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