One in every 10 people who get a stent for a blocked coronary artery ends up in the hospital within 30 days according to a Duke Medical Center article in Archives of Internal Medicine in November of 2011. In this study of 13,000 patients over 10 years have complications such as bleeding or a heart attack. Of these patients, 8% died within a year and they had a 40% higher mortality than those not readmitted within 30 days.
Patients and families need education to understand the disease process and follow treatment plans carefully. It is also important that lifestyle strategies be followed rather than just talked about. We're losing the doctor patient relationship as HMOs are restricting physician time with patients. Physicians also need more flexibility in determining the length of hospitalization for many patients.
