A University of Toledo resident presented research at an international conference, showing that patients who have narrowed arteries to their kidneys are not benefiting from opening up the narrowed arteries by stenting and therefore should not have the surgery.
Mark Yu, a third-year internal medicine resident, discussed his work at the European Society of Hypertension Conference in Milan in June.
Yu was part of an international research project led by Dr. Christopher Cooper, executive vice president for clinical affairs and dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences, that investigated whether the use of stents helped reduce blood pressure and provided additional benefit beyond medicine. The study focused on patients with renal artery stenosis, or blockage of the arteries to the kidneys, and found stents provided no additional benefit.
Yu’s presentation was titled “Stenting of Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis Does Not Improve Clinical Outcomes in Patients Presenting With Congestive Heart Failure: An Analysis of the Cardiovascular Outcomes in Renal Atherosclerotic Lesions Trial.”
“This is a very prestigious study, and I was honored to be a part of the research led by Dr. Cooper,” Yu said. “He is an outstanding faculty member and an expert in this field of study.”
Yu said renal atherosclerotic lesions have been a challenging medical topic. Past clinical trials were criticized because they were poorly designed and executed, he added. However, Cooper’s study is the largest ever and showed convincingly evidence that stenting does not help.
“We looked at 123 patients, which is significant because the past three studies, added together, looked at 90 patients total,” Yu said. “I feel very lucky to be a part of Dr. Cooper’s group. He is leading this cutting-edge research. It was a wonderful opportunity to present this work. I am blessed.”
Cooper said the completion of the study was made possible by the excellent residents at UT.
“I am very proud of the accomplishments of our trainees,” Cooper said. “Mark did an outstanding job presenting the findings of the study. As a result of disseminating this information, it is possible that fewer patients will have to deal with the recovery and cost of inserting a stent surgically.”
