The answer will be known on Tuesday, when study data is released at the annual American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans. Already, though, doctors and investors expect trial results to show that are no better than drugs in preventing deaths and heart attacks for patients with cardiovascular disease.

The latest study, involving 2,287 patients, was carried out to determine whether stents placed in arteries prevent deaths and heart attacks better than aggressive therapy using a combination of drugs to lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure and prevent clots in patients with heart disease.

The study is “sizzling hot,” says Steven Nissen, president of the cardiology college and the chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic. “It really asks the question, never before asked in the modern era, whether aggressive drug therapy without an angioplasty is as good or not as good as aggressive medical therapy.”

The results may not be so hot for Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific, which already face questions over the safety of these devices.

You can read more here…
Bloomberg News;
Forbes;
ACC conference.

[tags]Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Stents[/tags]