American doctors working in France have used laser light beams to treat patients withheart disease Heart disease kills more people in industrial countries than, any. other dis-ease. A major form. of heart disease is arteriosclerosis or thé narrowing and hardening ofthe arteries that carry blood to the heart. When a person suffers from severe arteriosclerosis. fatty materials build up in his or her arteries. This build-up blocks the flow of blood,reducing the heart s blood supply. If the hearts blood supply becomes dangerously low orblocked completely by a blood clot, the patient will have a heart attack. More than 600,000 Americans die every year from heart attack caused by blocked arteries. American doctors from Seaton Medical Center in California used laser light beams to destroy material blocking. thearteries of four French heart,patients.The scientists triedthe new laser technique after they were invited to do so by doctors from Pupan Hospital inToulouse. France. It was the first time that doctors had used the intense, powerful beamsof laser light to burn through and destroy substances blocking human arteries. The doctors first made a small cut through the patients skin into the heart artery that wasblocked. They then placed a long plastic tube through the cut into the artery until the endof the tube reached the blocked area. The tube contained tiny fibers of glass through whichthe laser light could travel. Doctors fired a laser machine outside the patients body. Thepowerful light traveled through the tube to destroy the blood clots and fat that were blocking the artery. Doctor Daniel Choy. the American doctor who led the team, said the scientists examined three of four patients treated 25 days after the laser operation. in one patient, the artery had remained unblocked. but in the other two patients, the arteries hadelosed up again after the treatment Dr. Choy said he does not know if the new laser treat-ment might someday replace medical operations now used to treat arteriosclerosis patients.He said more study is needed before scientists will really know if the new method is safeand effective. The American government has not yet given doctors permission to use thelaser treatment on human heart patients in the United States.
Why is arteriosclerosis more dangerous than other diseases?