Drive Thru Angioplasty

Getting you arteries cleaned in a day is getting easier and easier...

It has not become quite as routine as having your teeth cleaned, but a growing number of people are going to hospitals to get their heart arteries unclogged and going home the same day.

New research presented Sunday at an American Heart Association conference suggests the approach is safe. It found complications were no greater in people who went home a few hours after having angioplasty than in those who were hospitalized overnight.

Doctors have been reluctant to adopt the outpatient method but ``this is the kind of study that's going to turn the trend,'' said Timothy Gardner, a Delaware cardiologist who heads the meeting committee but had no role in the research.

Patients, however, might not like being rushed out the door. Some may view it as the cardiac equivalent of ``drive-through deliveries,'' where new moms are sent home the day they give birth.

Angioplasty is one of the most common medical techniques in the world. About 600,000 are done each year in the United States.

The article goes on to say that accessing the arterial system through the arm, as opposed to the groin, reduces bleeding complications and enhances the safety of sending patients home early.