Cycling and surgery have similar effect

From Chicago, Ill., at a meeting of the American Heart Association

Among people with chest pain because of clogged heart arteries, regular exercise on a stationary bike reduced symptoms better than surgery did, a team of German physicians has found in a small study.

After a year, just 6 of the 51 of the patients in the study who exercised had either died or gone back to the hospital for additional procedures, while 15 of the 50 patients who had angioplasty had died or had another procedure.