NEW YORK - FOR people with heart disease who need a procedure to unblock their clogged coronary arteries, angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting provide similar 10-year survival rates, researchers report.

However, in the short-term, coronary bypass is better than angioplasty at relieving chest pain and preventing the need for a repeat procedure. As mentioned, no significant difference in 10-year survival was noted between the procedures, the report indicates. This was also the case for a subgroup of diabetic patients.

Strokes occurred in 1.2 per cent of patients undergoing bypass but in only 0.6 per cent of those being treated with angioplasty. Angina was relieved over a five-year period in 84 per cent of bypass patients compared with 79 per cent of the angioplasty group.

Repeat procedures were needed after five years by 43 per cent of patients treated with angioplasty, whereas the rate with coronary bypass was a tad less than 10 per cent.

However, because techniques continue to be refined, such a comparison 'remains a moving target,' the authors point out. In particular, studies are now underway investigating how the availability of drug-coated stents used in angioplasty affects the comparative efficacy of these procedures. -- REUTERS