Wall Street Journal - "FREEDOM Trial Results: For Diabetics, Bypasses Gain"

Diabetic patients with seriously diseased heart arteries are significantly more likely to survive or avoid future attacks if they are treated with bypass surgery rather than with artery-opening devices called stents, according to a major new study. Researchers said a 1,900-patient study found that those randomly assigned to the open-heart operation were 30 percent less likely to die or suffer a heart attack or stroke within five years, compared with those who underwent the less-invasive treatment to implant a stent. "The results are clear," said Dr. Valentin Fuster, cardiologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the study's principal investigator. "The results are going to make a change in practice." Learn more