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Outcomes favoring CABG were driven by a reduction in all-cause mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) while complicated by increased rates of stroke. 3 The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute sponsored trial demonstrated CABG was superior to PCI with first generation drug-eluting stents. The FREEDOM trial was a prospective, randomized, multicenter superiority trial that compared multivessel PCI to CABG in diabetic patients on optimal medical therapy. The advent of drug eluting stents prompted a re-examination of these results, and the FREEDOM (Future Revascularization Evaluation in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: Optimal Management of Multivessel Disease) trial sought to put the question to rest. 1 Subsequent analysis was performed comparing bare metal stents (BMS) to CABG, and the ARTS-I (Arterial Revascularization Therapy Study) trial showed that the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) strategy required more frequent repeat revascularization, though there was not a significant difference in major adverse cardiovascular events. In 1997, the BARI (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation) trial compared balloon angioplasty with bypass surgery and tracked the results to 10 years, demonstrating a mortality benefit in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) compared to balloon angioplasty in treated diabetics.
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The topic of revascularization in diabetics with multivessel disease is one which has perplexed cardiologists for years.
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