Stents or bypass surgery can improve outcomes in patients with stable ischemic heart disease A recent study by University of Alberta cardiologists at the Canadian VIGOUR Centre shows that a particular group of patients with stable ischemic heart disease have better outcomes with percutaneous coronary intervention (also called angioplasty with stent) or coronary artery bypass surgery and medication, versus conservative management with medication alone. In a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, associate professor of medicine and academic interventional cardiologist Kevin Bainey and his team reviewed the patient information of more than 9,000 Albertans with stable ischemic heart disease. While able to function as outpatients, these patients had arteries in the heart that had narrowed and were restricting blood supply. They also had other heart issues--referred to as high-risk cardiac anatomy--including blockages in important locations of the heart's blood vessels, or restriction in the left main artery of the heart.