BOSTON - Diabetics can dramatically reduce their risk of dying from a subsequent heart attack by undergoing bypass surgery, according to a study in New England Journal of Medicine.

About five per cent in each group had a first heart attack within the next five years.

Among the diabetics, the differences in survival were dramatic. Only 17 per cent of those who had undergone bypass surgery died after a heart attack. For those who received angioplasty, the rate was 80 per cent.

For non-diabetics, the research found bypass surgery was no more effective than angioplasty in preventing deaths.

Scientists say diabetics with heart disease usually have more clogging of the arteries than non-diabetics. When they're hit with a heart attack, their hearts — deprived of oxygen — have a more difficult time recovering.

But the study suggests the heart recuperates from a heart attack just as quickly in diabetics treated with bypass surgery as in non-diabetics. Bypass surgery, according to the research, is more effective long-term than angioplasty at keeping a healthy blood flow to the heart.