Study finds neck stents as good as surgery for fixing narrowed arteries that can cause stroke

Stroke study finds neck stents safe, effective

SAN ANTONIO — A big study finds that people with narrowed neck arteries that could lead to a stroke can be safely treated with a less drastic option than the surgery done now.

Doctors say that hundreds of thousands of Americans a year might be able to have an artery-opening procedure and a stent, instead of surgery. A stent is a mesh tube that props the blood vessel open,

The treatments have different complications, though. Strokes were more of a problem after stents, while heart attacks were more common in people given surgery.