Doctors rush to heart procedure before proven drugs

[Celebration]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/11/us-doctors-heart-procedure-idUSTRE7496MZ20110511

Fewer than half of Americans with stable heart disease get guideline-recommended medicines before being rushed off for an invasive heart procedure, researchers said Tuesday.

Yet the costly procedure, called percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI, offers few proven benefits over drug therapy and puts patients at risk of side effects.

"I always encourage patients to be proactive members of their own healthcare team, and they certainly should be asking doctors if they are on the right medicines," said study researcher Dr. William B. Borden, of the Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.

..................snip................

"There are no financial disincentives to avoiding PCI," Boden said. "On the contrary, in a fee-for-service model, physicians are paid for doing procedures."

Concluded Borden: "Hopefully our study will shine a light on the importance of providing medical therapy to patients before they receive stents."

[Systematic Chaos]

1. In the majority of cases nutrition would trump both.

:shrug:

[trotsky]

2. Oh, did you examine them all? n/t

[Systematic Chaos]

3. No, but I defer to someone who has spent his life saving the lives of others with nutrition:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/sept/angio.htm

And he's got plenty of other cited articles concerning stents and other, often unnecessary, procedures.

If that isn't enough, consider the cases of some of these people:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/stars/index.html

And from personal experience I'd like to tell you that by following this man's advice I have managed to drop a shit ton of weight and very well may have saved at least part of my left foot or even leg from amputation.

But what the fuck do I know, amirite?

[trotsky]

4. I am not disputing the fact that eating better, and certainly exercising, will improve health.

You just seemed to state so matter-of-factly that nutrition would have helped BETTER than drugs or surgery in these cases, I thought maybe you had some special knowledge that no one else did.

[Systematic Chaos]

5. Read the links, please. My point is that IT DOES.

:eyes: