Dr. Jeffrey Gladden explains why bypass surgery and stents treat the blockage but not atherosclerosis itself. Most patients who get these procedures still die from heart disease. Without lifestyle changes and prevention, they end up back in surgery.
When I can now explain to them, we did the surgery, right, to deal with the blockage, the problem that was in front of us, the problem that was maybe life-threatening or at least causing you symptoms. And so we've taken care of that. But if we don't now address the reason you got the blockage, the underlying problem, you're going to be back. And we know the data, right? The vast majority of patients that have bypass surgery or they have a stent placed, they're going to die of heart disease. They're going to die years later than they would have without the surgery or without the stent. But we've done absolutely nothing to address the underlying root cause by doing the surgery or putting the stent in. And that's where, again, the opportunity is. My first book is called Stay Off My Operating Table, right? But I still give it to all the patients that I've operated on. And I tell them, I don't want you back on the operating table, and this is what we need to do to accomplish that. Yeah.
