Isolated coronary artery bypass grafting in patients seventy years of age and older: early and late results

Increasing longevity makes the consideration of coronary bypass common in elderly patients. Seventy-five patients 70 years of age or older undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for angina pectoris were compared to a control group of 75 patients under 70 years of age. The groups were matched for male:female ratio (46:29), previous infarction (28/75), unstable angina (27/75), and the requirement for preoperative intra-aortic balloon pumping (7/75). Patients under 70 years of age had an average preoperative New York Heart Association (NYHA) class of 3.0 +/- 0.6 (SEM) and an average left ventricular end-diastolic pressure of 15.5 +/- 0.8 mm Hg, compared to 3.3 +/- 0.6 and 12.9 +/- 1.1 mm Hg, respectively, for the older group. Average grafts per patient were 2.7 +/- 0.8 in the younger group and 2.8 +/- 0.1 in the older group. Overall operative mortality for patients under 70 was 4% (3/75) versus 12% (9/75) (p = 0.06) for patients 70 and older. The incidence of chronic stable angina was 2% (1/48) versus 6% (3/48) (p = 0.30). Perioperative infarctions occurred in 7% of those under 70 and 5% of those 70 or older (p = 0.54). Those under 70 averaged 13.8 +/- 0.6 postoperative hospital days versus 18.4 +/- 1.2 hospital days for the older group (p less than 0.05). Follow-up ranged from 2 to 94 months, averaging 22 months for patients under 70 and 24 months for those 70 or older. Late cardiac mortality rates were 4% (3/70) in the younger patients and 3% (2/66) in the older patients (p = 0.53). Current NYHA class was 1.3 +/- 0.7 for those under 70, with 9% reporting angina, and 1.4 +/- 0.7 for those who were 70 or older, with 6% reporting angina. CABG can be performed with acceptable risk in older patients and leads to encouraging symptomatic improvement and late survival.