Coronary Angioplasty in Refractory Unstable Angina

To the Editor: The report by de Feyter et al. (August 8 issue)¹ describes emergency coronary angioplasty in patients with unstable angina that was refractory to “optimal medical therapy.” This therapy consisted of beta-blockers, nitrates, and calcium-channel blockers; all patients were subjected to invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Surprisingly, no mention was made of the use of aspirin for this condition; yet, there is conclusive evidence from a randomized, prospective, double-blind study that shows reductions in morbidity and mortality in association with the use of aspirin in unstable angina.² The same cannot be said for some of the other commonly employed therapies…., No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.