Most surgical angioplasties not needed, says controversial study

If you've gone in for that balloon angioplasty to help clear those arteries, a new study says that most of them are unneeded because drugs are just as effective.

This new research will surely be quite controversial since over half a million patients undergo surgery each year to have angioplasties performed and those procedures are one of the most common practices in heart care. To state that most of them are unnecessary will raise a few eyebrows for sure.

This study's results found that surgical angioplasties did not save lives or prevent heart attacks in non-emergency heart patients. Hospitals and doctors should worry I suppose -- about those profit margins more than anything.