Angioplasty/Stent

291,289 Annually

Once a procedure performed on a limited number of patients with specific criteria, angioplasties and stents are becoming more popular as a minimally invasive, preventative procedure to clear blocked arteries and keep them open. An angioplasty works by inserting a small balloon-like tool into a narrowed artery to open it up. While these procedures worked temporarily, many patients (one in five) found themselves having to have the procedure repeated. That is so the metal stent - a device that’s inserted into the artery - physically keeps the artery open. Newer stents, which are coated with drugs, both minimize your chances of needing another angioplasty procedure by up to 90 percent while delivering heart medications directly to the artery walls.

Now, doctors have developed biodegradable stents, which will remain in the artery long enough to reform it, but will break down over time. These may be preferable because patients who have metal stents must take blood thinners to minimize their risk of developing life-threatening blood clots.

Hip Replacements

288,471 Annually

Following behind knees, hips are the most common replacement surgery seen in Baby Boomers. These procedures become necessary as a normal part of the aging process (with longer life expectancies resulting in the body breaking down more during the course of a lifetime than in times with shorter life expectancies). These procedures, too, are on the rise: they will likely increase in frequency by nearly 150 percent by 2030.

While the rate at which they are performed has increased, the techniques for performing them have improved significantly. In the 1980s, an incision for a hip replacement would have been about 24 centimeters long. Today, the same result requires only a four centimeter incision, and surgeons are using an approach to the procedure that involves moving muscles to access the hip, rather than cutting through them, which cuts down dramatically on recovery times and gives patients a better outcome.