Using lasers to tackle a painful heart condition is far more effective than using drugs alone, specialists in the US have said.

Transmyocardial laser revascularisation - as the treatment is known - involves using a high-energy beam to cut 15 to 30 holes about 1mm wide through the wall of the heart.

Although the surface of the heart muscle seals immediately, the holes remain, helping the flow of blood bringing oxygen to the cells.

Angina is an extremely painful condition caused by part of the heart being starved of blood, and therefore oxygen.

Normally it is treated either with drugs such as nitrates, beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers, or by heart bypass surgery or angioplasty, both of which improve the blood supply.

Pain levels dropped

The research, from Rush Presbyterian St Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, found that measurements of pain levels in angina patients decreased significantly in seven out of ten of the 192 laser patients, but only 13% of patients only given drugs.

Dr Robert March, who led the research, said: "In lay terms, this improvement means these patients went from being bedridden with severe chest pain to being able to move about with little or no pain."

The study also found that the heart's ability to pump oxygenated blood to other parts of the body improved by 20% after laser treatment - but worsened by 27% in the drug only group.

Additionally, the rate of hospital admissions for "unstable angina" was just 2% in the laser group - whereas seven out of 10 angina sufferers on medication ended up in hospital.

Dr March said that the technique could be used in conjunction with surgery.

British specialists, however, believe that the procedure should be more fully evaluated before becoming standard practice for angina sufferers.

Some suggest that the extra quality of life offered by transmyocardial laser revascularisation should be compared to that offered by bypass surgery or angioplasty, rather than just with drug regimes normally only offered to patients with mild angina.

A spokesman for the British Heart Foundation said: "This is an interesting technique but we would like to see more work done."