Cardiologists are putting in stents needlessly, doctors say

Cardiologists in India have been accused of cashing in on the rapidly increasing incidence of coronary heart disease there by recommending stenting and other invasive coronary procedures to patients who may not need them.

A report by Global Industry Analysts says that the worldwide market in coronary stents is predicted to reach $1.8bn (Rs96bn; £1.1bn; €1.3bn) by 2017.1 With the death rate from coronary heart disease rapidly falling in developed nations, much of the burgeoning market for stents is due to increasing demand from India, which has one of the world’s highest rates of death from coronary heart disease.2

Concern is growing in India that cardiologists are carrying out …