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Because percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) has no advantage over medical therapy in lowering incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) or death, one of its main indications is relief of angina. But some studies conducted after recent improvements in medical therapies suggest that PCI is not much better for angina relief either.
In a systematic literature review of 14 randomized trials involving 7818 patients, investigators reevaluated evidence for angina relief with PCI versus optimal medical therapy for stable (for at least 1 week) CAD. Most studies included patients with prior MI, most patients were men with normal left ventricular function, and follow-up ranged from 1 to 10 years. In early studi…