A treatment called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or angioplasty, that opens the arteries of patients with stable coronary disease doesn't appear to boost survival – but it does make life more worth living, including having better sex.
A survey conducted on behalf of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions found that four out of five patients who have had PCI report the quality of their lives is better, including an improved sex life. According to the society's web site, the researchers also found that PCI patients were less likely to need extensive family caregviging and that they got back to work three times faster than heart surgery patients did.
“The results show a nearly two-fold reduction in symptoms such as chest discomfort and shortness of breath following angioplasty, and many of the patients reported having tried medical therapy for as long as seven to eight years to try and achieve similar results,” said J. Jeffrey Marshall, MD, FSCAI, SCAI president. “We see it every day in our patients. They come in with debilitating symptoms that interfere with their quality of life and we are able to get them back to living their lives not long after their procedure.”
