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Heart Disease In The News New England Journal weighs in on coronary artery
radiation Two original articles and two editorials appeared this week in the New England Journal of Medicine discussing radiation therapy for coronary artery disease. The editorials note that radiation therapy, approved by the FDA in November, offers significant promise. But the editorialists also note that much remains to be learned about intracoronary radiation therapy, and urge cardiologists to limit its use until more is learned about its long-term effects. They cite, in particular, several concerns about this therapy that remain unresolved, among which are: a possibility of increasing "late" heart attacks; the so-called "candy-wrapper" blockages associated with radiation; weakening of arterial walls caused by radiation; and other complications. Their main message: promising therapy, but not ready for widespread use until we know a lot more. However, judging from ecstatic quotations by local cardiologists appearing in newspapers around the country this week, caution may not be the primary thing on doctors' minds. Patients will do well to begin at a position of skepticism if radiation therapy is broached to them. Click here for a recent article on radiation therapy for coronary artery disease. |
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