Stents or surgery? New data on the comparative outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Coronary angioplasty and coronary bypass surgery are mechanical approaches to atherosclerotic obstructions that impede coronary blood flow. In bypass surgery, arterial and venous conduits are placed beyond the proximal obstructions. By contrast, in angioplasty, the area of narrowing is expanded and now usually buttressed with a stent. Neither mechanical approach addresses the fundamental disease process, however, which needs to be treated with medications and lifestyle changes.