Angioplasties Increase in Number and Rate

According to Wikipedia, angioplasty was first described in 1964 by Dr. Charles Dotter and successfully used in a clinical setting in 1977 by Dr. Andreas Gruentzig. It was widely seen as a much less invasive and traumatic alternative to bypass surgery.

We first regularized collection of data on angioplasties with our 1994 Hospital Discharge Survey , published as Advance Data #278, October 3, 1996. That report gives the number of angioplasties performed in the US short-stay hospitals as 428,000. 2004 Hospital Discharge Survey data, published as Advance Data #371 on May 4, 2006, reflects the increasing popularity of the procedure. In 2004, 664,000 procedures were performed.

Over time the number of angioplasties have increased.

1999  601,000

2000  561,000

2001  572,000

2002  657,000

2003  664,000

2004  664,000

A study in Health Affairs gives more detail on the use of angioplasty.

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