Impaired fibrin clot lysis is associated with increased mortality in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting: A long‐term follow‐up study

Background Mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is primarily thromboembolic by nature. We investigated whether impaired fibrinolysis observed in cardiovascular diseases is associated with long‐term mortality following CABG. Methods The study population comprised 292 consecutive patients (aged 64.6 ± 8.1 years) who underwent scheduled CABG. We measured plasma clot lysis time (CLT) preoperatively as a measure of fibrinolysis capacity. Cardiovascular and all‐cause deaths were recorded during a median follow‐up of 13.8 years. Result CLT positively correlated with age (r = .56, p