What are your options for treating clogged heart arteries?

Drug-eluting stents are just one option for treating narrowed heart arteries. It's worth remembering that you have about five options — each with risks and benefits — if your arteries become narrowed:

• Medications and lifestyle changes. This is a good option for many people. If you have symptoms from your narrowed coronary arteries, such as angina, and your condition isn't severe or immediately life-threatening, it may be worth first trying heart medications, such as beta blockers, nitrates or calcium channel blockers, as well as aspirin and cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins.

  With medications, lifestyle changes, such as stopping smoking, eating a more heart-healthy diet and exercising, can be as effective as receiving a stent in some circumstances. Even if you receive a stent, your doctor will likely also prescribe medications, such as aspirin and statins, and lifestyle changes.

• Angioplasty and bare-metal stents. These stents can work well, but they have a higher rate of restenosis than do drug-eluting stents. If you'll need some type of surgery that's not related to your heart (for example, a stomach or hernia operation) soon after your stent placement, or if you have a bleeding disorder, you may do better with a bare-metal stent.
• Angioplasty and drug-eluting stents. Drug-eluting stents are safe and effective in most circumstances. These stents work well and have a lower rate of restenosis than do bare-metal stents. For optimum effectiveness, you must take your medications as prescribed.
• Coronary bypass surgery. Bypass surgery is used to divert blood around blocked arteries in the heart. The surgeon takes a healthy blood vessel from your leg, arm or chest and connects it to the other arteries in your heart so that blood is bypassed around the diseased or blocked area. Bypass surgery works well and may sometimes be preferred over stents, but it's more invasive than using stents, which means a longer recovery time.