Doctors debate methodology, conclusions reached in new study suggesting stents don’t ease chest pain

A picture shows the operating room during intraoperative radiation therapy on a breast cancer patient on November 2, 2017, in the surgical unit of the Paoli-Calmettes Institute overall cancer care centre in Marseille, southeastern France.
Intraoperative radiotherapy is the application of a single dose of therapeutic levels of radiation using an Intrabeam device to the tumor bed after the cancerous tumor has been extracted and while the area is exposed during surgery. / AFP PHOTO / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT (Photo credit should read ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images)

A new study published in Lancet raised questions about the efficacy of heart stents to relieve chest pain.

Heart stents are small wire cages used to open blocked arteries. As reported by the New York Times, inserting stents to relieve chest pain is a common procedure, and the study’s findings have caused some in the medical community to rethink their use. Stents can save lives when implemented to open arteries when patients have a heart attack. Worldwide, more than 500,000 people per year have the procedure done.

Larry speaks to two doctors today to find out more about the study’s findings, and what you need to know about heart stents.

Guests:

Dr. Rita Redberg, M.D. professor of medicine and cardiologist at UC San Francisco

Dr. David Maron, M.D., clinical professor of cardiovascular medicine and director of preventive cardiology at Stanford