Stents, bypass surgery equally safe, effective for many with left main heart disease

Columbia University Medical CenterSummary:Drug-eluting stents, a less-invasive alternative to bypass surgery, are as effective as surgery for many patients with a blockage in the left main coronary artery, a major international study has found. A major international study has found that drug-eluting stents, a less-invasive alternative to bypass surgery, are as effective as surgery for many patients with a blockage in the left main coronary artery. Findings from the EXCEL (Evaluation of XIENCE versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for Effectiveness of Left Main Revascularization) trial were published this morning online in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in Washington, DC. The trial research team included interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons from 126 centers in 17 countries.