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Most angioplasties and stents used to treat acute heart attacks or unstable angina in the US are necessary and lifesaving. We know that these procedures are not indicated for people with coronary artery blockages who are stable; only about 3% benefit from these invasive procedures compared to medical treatment alone using pharmaceutical drugs. There is also a...

  Moderate exercise helps ease depression in patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) and is also associated with a small reduction in death and hospitalizations. Even the failing heart can be strengthened by exercise as measured by peak oxygen consumption and longer duration of exercise that is done carefully under the supervision of a qualified...

The logic of identifying blockages in the coronary arteries and opening them with either a stent or surgical bypass makes a lot of sense. However, logic does not always turn out to provide the correct answer. We do nearly 1 million stent procedures to open blocked arteries every year in the US but unless we do them in the acute setting of a heart attack they...