New treatment could offer heart patients an alternative to permanent stents
Drug-coated balloons show similar effectiveness in preventing serious outcomes
New research from the University of East Anglia suggests that thousands of heart patients could be treated without needing permanent metal stents implanted in their arteries.
A major analysis of data from over 7,800 patients demonstrated that drug-coated balloons perform as well as conventional stents in preventing heart attacks and cardiovascular deaths.
Drug-coated balloons are removed after treatment, offering a potential safe alternative to permanent stents, according to the findings at the University of East Anglia.
Researchers reviewed data from 10 randomised clinical trials involving 7,832 patients with coronary artery disease.
Dr Natasha Corballis from UEA’s Norwich Medical School explained that while drug-releasing stents remain in the artery permanently, drug-coated balloons are removed after releasing medicine into the artery wall.
Corballis said, “Our work shows that there is no meaningful difference between these two treatments when it came to the most serious outcomes.”
The study noted a potential drawback in larger arteries, where patients were more likely to require a repeat procedure when treated with drug-coated balloons.
The researchers urge caution, noting the variation between studies and the influence of a single clinical trial on this finding.
Prof Vassilios Vassiliou highlighted the interest in the "leave nothing behind" strategy, which could reduce complications associated with permanent stents.
The study, led by UEA in collaboration with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, concluded that larger trials are needed to confirm the effectiveness of drug-coated balloons in more complex cases.