Improvement in angina is greater with transmyocardial laser revascularization

Among 275 patients with NYHA class IV refractory angina who were randomized to transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMLR) or medical therapy (MT), improvement in angina at 3, 6, and 12 months was better with TMLR than MT (p <0.001 for the comparison between TMLR and MT at all three points in time). Patients initially assigned to receive MT who met the criteria for treatment failure and subsequently underwent TMLR (crossover) also had a significant improvement in angina.