Angioplasty Favoured Over Drug Treatment in New National Strategy

There is a growing trend for medical devices to be employed in place of drugs, which is good news for patients and for the medical device manufacturing industry.

The latest evidence of this trend is found in a UK Government report that advocates employing angioplasty instead of thrombolysis for heart attack patients because it will save lives and money.

Thrombolysis, an injection of clot busting drugs, is currently the most common treatment. But angioplasty is now considered to be a more effective alternative if treatment is supplied within two hours.

The National Infarct Angioplasty Project report states that primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) offers a low recurrence of heart attack, is associated with fewer complications and is both clinically and cost-effective when delivered within two hours of patient call for professional help. It is believed that PPCI could save the lives of 250 people per year in the UK.

The angioplasty strategy is being rolled out across England and is fully achievable within three years, says the report. It will require catheter laboratories to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and close co-ordination between hospital and ambulance services. It is thought that 97% of the UK population could receive angioplasty within the two-hour treatment window. Large urban areas are likely to be able to deliver the service, in rural areas it will be more difficult; areas unable to meet the timescale will continue to use thrombolysis.

It is reported that heart attacks currently kill one person every six minutes in the UK and every year approximately146000 people will suffer an attack.

For more examples of the growing awareness of the advantages of switching from drugs to treatment with medical devices read two other medtechinsider blogs:

Devices Versus Drugs in Developing World
Unity Now Drives the Goal of Faster Innovation in Europe