Cardiologist: Coronary bypass surgery is commonly performed

Question

Cardiologist: Coronary bypass surgery is commonly performed on patients suffering from coronary artery disease when certain other therapies would be as effective. Besides being relatively inexpensive, these other therapies pose less risk to the patient since they are less intrusive. Bypass surgery is especially debatable for single-vessel disease.

The cardiologist’s statements, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?

(A) Bypass surgery is riskier than all alternative therapies.

(B) Needless bypass surgery is more common today than previously.

(C) Bypass surgery should be performed when more than one vessel is diseased.

(D) Bypass surgery is an especially expensive therapy when used to treat single-vessel disease.

(E) Sometimes there are equally effective alternatives to bypass surgery that involve less risk.

heygirl · Accepted Answer

Agree with GMAT1220.
E is the best answer here. The question asks us which og the statemens support the argument, so any neutral option or supporting option could be the right answer

A) Bypass surgery is  riskier  than all alternative
therapies.   This is too much generalization. 
(B) Needless bypass surgery is more common today
than previously. The passage never mentions about today 
(C) Bypass surgery should be performed when more
than one vessel is diseased. The last sentence does talk about single vessels; however, the word SHOULD is wrong here 
(D) Bypass surgery is an especially expensive
therapy when used to treat single-vessel
disease. Not mentioned in the passage 
(E) Sometimes there are equally effective
alternatives to bypass surgery that involve less
risk. the onyl alternative that does not hur or weaken the argument. Hence, correct answer

gmat1220 · Answer

E has zero cons. The following keywords are fatal.
A - riskier
B - more common
C - should
D - especially expensive

cmclaurin · Answer

Agree with heygirl. Neutral tone is the preferred option.

hangovrlyf · Answer

option D-This option covers almost all aspects of argument inline with conclusion,"beside being inexpensive" i.e. Bypass surgery is considered expensive therapy. But "specially" word in option Vs "debatable" word in argument does not fall under one basket .
Therefore my pick is OPTION E :rocket

Archit143 · Answer

Correct Answer is E

All other options stray away from the central theme of the argument. The argument is about there being other ways that are less expensive and equally effective for Single vessel surgery.

consider kudos, If my post helps!!

Archit

sivaspurthy · Answer

What about the usage of "some times"...in explaining the effectiveness of the other alternatives...the stimulus didnot mention that other alternatives are effective sometimes...

Regards
Siva

DebWenger · Answer

Confused between A and E.Option A clearly states that it is riskier than all other surgeries.Does it not echo the cardiologist's statements and thus strengthen it.
Really interested to know what's wrong with A.
E has the word 'sometimes',which I feel sort of makes it slightly less of an option than A.
Experts pls comment.

gauravshakya · Answer

Is not E re-stated premise from the argument? It's exactly what already mentioned in the argument.

ssriva2 · Answer

A-exaggerated
b,c-ofs
d-"especially expensive" not mentioned
e-correct

sandeep1756 · Answer

Nice question. I picked up C

Though I understood the explanation given why E is correct, can anyone tell me what are the premises and conclusion. I am not able to distinguish for this question.

Ashishmathew01081987 · Answer

Hello Sandeep,

First of all, there is no conclusion in the above passage. Everything that is given is a fact. In short, it is an Inference question.

The statements, if true, support which one of the following - Inference based question (a conclusion is not present)

Which one of the following options must be true for the above argument to be true - Assumption based question (a conclusion is present)

Hope it helps

sandeep1756 · Answer

Thanks for replying Ashishmathew01081987 Right I read it wrong.. I now caught the error. My bad

The question is saying what it strongly supports... I missed it.

warriorguy · Answer

My 2 cents:

A) Bypass surgery is riskier than  all  alternative
therapies. --> There are  certain other  alternatives
(B) Needless bypass surgery is more common today
than previously. --> Does not list any time frame reference in the stem
(C) Bypass surgery should be performed when more
than one vessel is diseased. --> Does not list this notion in the argument. Talks about single vessel only. No preference is mentioned when more than one is diseased. 
(D) Bypass surgery is an especially expensive
therapy when used to treat single-vessel
disease. --> It is debatable probably because it is more risky. Expense is not mentioned with respect to single-vessel disease.
(E) Sometimes there are equally effective
alternatives to bypass surgery that involve less
risk. -->  Correct

Arro44 · Answer

I would opt for answer choice E.

Could someone change the formatting of the question? The current view makes it kinda tricky to read.

Best regards,
Chris

DharLog · Answer

Cardiologist: Coronary bypass surgery is commonly
performed on patients suffering from coronary
artery disease when certain other therapies would
be as effective. Besides being relatively
inexpensive, these other therapies pose less risk
to the patient since they are less intrusive. Bypass
surgery is especially debatable for single-vessel
disease.
The cardiologist’s statements, if true, most strongly
support which one of the following?
(A) Bypass surgery is riskier than all alternative
therapies.
 All - is too extreme. We know only about alternatives, that cardiologist talks about, and it is his opinion. 
(B) Needless bypass surgery is more common today
than previously.
 We do not know anything about previously 
(C) Bypass surgery should be performed when more
than one vessel is diseased.
 Can not know it 
(D) Bypass surgery is an especially expensive
therapy when used to treat single-vessel
disease.
 Do not have this information 
(E) Sometimes there are equally effective
alternatives to bypass surgery that involve less
risk.
 Neutral. Rephrasing the passage. Good.

TheGraceful · Answer

Thanks.
explanation makes good sense.

Adambhau · Answer

(D) Bypass surgery is an especially expensive
therapy when used to treat single-vessel
disease.

D is out because Bypass surgery is expensive therapy not only for single-vessel disease but also for two-vessel-desease or for other deseases.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Here's (A).

(A) Bypass surgery is riskier than all alternative therapies.

Notice that the passage doesn't say that "all" alternative therapies are less risky than bypass surgery. Rather, the passage mentions "certain therapies" and then says, "these other therapies pose less risk to the patient."

So, in saying "bypass surgery is riskier than  all  alternative therapies," choice (A) goes beyond what the passage supports.

Here's (E).

(E) Sometimes there are equally effective alternatives to bypass surgery that involve less risk.

Let's break this choice down and see how it matches up with the passage.

Sometimes  - This is supported by the last sentence of the passage, "Bypass surgery is especially debatable for single-vessel disease." That sentence indicates that bypass surgery is more debatable in some cases than in others. So, it implies that "sometimes" bypass surgery makes more sense.

Also, the passage doesn't say that bypass surgery is never more effective. Rather, it says, "Coronary bypass surgery is commonly performed on patients suffering from coronary artery disease  when certain other therapies would be as effective ," indicating that, at some times "when certain other therapies would be effective," bypass surgery is performed. So, "sometimes" matches OK with what the passage says.

there are equally effective alternatives to bypass surgery  - This part of the choice is supported by "certain other therapies would be as effective," in the passage.

that involve less risk  - This part of the choice is supported by "these other therapies pose less risk to the patient," in the passage.

The correct answer is (E).

napolean92728 · Answer

Correct Answer: (E) 
 Reasoning: 
The cardiologist states that bypass surgery is sometimes performed when  other therapies would be just as effective . These alternative therapies are also described as  less intrusive and posing less risk . This directly supports the idea that  equally effective alternatives exist that involve less risk , which is exactly what  option (E)  states.

Eliminating Other Options:
 (A) Bypass surgery is riskier than all alternative therapies. 
❌  Incorrect : The cardiologist states that some alternatives are  less risky , but this does not mean that bypass surgery is  riskier than all possible alternatives . Some therapies might have similar or even greater risks.

(B) Needless bypass surgery is more common today than previously. 
❌  Incorrect : The argument mentions that bypass surgery is sometimes performed unnecessarily, but it does  not compare current practice to past trends . There is no mention of an increase in needless surgeries over time.

(C) Bypass surgery should be performed when more than one vessel is diseased. 
❌  Incorrect : The cardiologist specifically mentions that bypass surgery is  debatable  for single-vessel disease but does  not  state that it is always necessary for multi-vessel disease. This is an unwarranted assumption.

(D) Bypass surgery is an especially expensive therapy when used to treat single-vessel disease. 
❌  Incorrect : The argument states that other therapies are  less expensive , but it does  not  claim that bypass surgery is  especially expensive  for single-vessel disease in particular. The cost factor is not the main focus.

Cardiologist: Coronary bypass surgery is commonly performed

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Cardiologist: Coronary bypass surgery is commonly performed

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards