Study: Stroke prevention surgery less effective than lifestyle changes

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According to the National Institutes of Health, about 800,000 Americans each year have a stroke. This debilitating condition is one of the leading causes of long-term adult disability and costs the country almost $28 billion annually in direct medical costs. With such dire outcomes, many medical researchers have been working diligently to reduce an individual's risk of having a stroke.

One of the newest stroke prevention techniques, a surgical procedure known as stenting, has not been shown to be more effective than traditional treatment, which includes medication and lifestyle changes, according to a study published in The Lancet. The surgery, in fact, may actually increase the risk of stroke, and the investigative team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis had to end their study early due to this fact.

The trial subjects, who had all previously had a stroke and were at risk for another, were split into two groups. The first had a stent surgically inserted into an artery to increase blood flow, while individuals in the other group received medications and were regularly counseled on how to live healthier lifestyles.

After two years of following the study subjects, it was clear to the researchers that stent surgery was not the best option for stroke prevention.

"We were expecting that at some point the incidence of new strokes in those who had surgery would drop below that of those who did not, but that didn't happen," said Dr. Colin Derdeyn, the principal investigator of the study, in a press release. "This proves that medical therapy is better than surgery for these patients."

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