Common Heart Attack Treatment Reconsidered

Study: Angioplasties Given 12 Hours After An Attack May Do More Harm Than Good. "It is critical to seek medical care quickly. Don't deny that something is happening. Don't sit at home and take antacids." Opening arteries quickly is crucial to surviving heart attacks, and the study's findings do not change the need for urgent action or the evidence that angioplasty saves lives when done soon after an attack. The usual treatment is angioplasty, in which doctors snake a tube through a blood vessel in the groin to the blockage. A tiny balloon is inflated and a mesh stent is put in place to prop the artery open.