Study identifies treatments associated with lower bleeding rates following cardiac procedures
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 - 15:52
in Health & Medicine
In a study that included data from more than 1.5 million patients, use of vascular closure devices and the anticoagulant bivalirudin were associated with significantly lower bleeding rates for patients following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that patients who may benefit most from these treatments, those at greatest risk of bleeding, were least likely to receive them.