Surgical Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Research Articles

The Condition of the Coronary Arteries in Patients with Ischemic Mitral Insufficiency

Secondary (or functional) mitral regurgitation is the result of myocardial dysfunction due to ischemic injury with relatively normal cusps. In patients with ischemic mitral insufficiency, only surgical coronary artery bypass grafting can affect the reverse remodeling of the left ventricle and reduce the degree of mitral regurgitation. One of the main pathogenetic factors for the development of this type of mitral insufficiency is myocardial ischemia. Studying the state of coronary blood flow in patients with ischemic mitral insufficiency is a primary task in the surgical treatment of this pathology.
 The aim. To study the condition of the coronary arteries in patients with ischemic mitral insufficiency.
 Material and methods. From January 2015 to December 2019, 194 patients with ischemic mitral insufficiency underwent surgical intervention at the Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery of the NAMS of Ukraine.
 Results and Discussion. Coronarography revealed haemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis in 190 (97.9%) patients. In 4 (2.1%) patients there was no hemodynamically significant coronary arteries stenosis. Analysis of the data of selective angiography showed that the majority of patients with ischemic mitral insufficiency had three-vessel disease (75.2%). Occlusion of the left circumflex coronary artery was observed in 33 (17.4%), and sub-occlusive changes were detected in 3 (1.6%) of patients. A completely different lesion pattern is observed for the branches of the right coronary artery. Thus, in 56 (29.4%) cases, occlusion of a particular branch was found on angiogram. Sub-occlusion of the right coronary artery was observed in 15 (7.9%) cases.
 Conclusions. In patients with ischemic mitral insufficiency, hemodynamically significant stenosis was most often observed in the anterior interventricular artery (81.6%). Comparison of the status of the right coronary artery and circumflex artery showed that the right coronary artery lesions occurred more frequently. The section of the right coronary artery between the outflow of the acute marginal branch and the branching to the posterior interventricular and lateral branches was the most vulnerable site of the coronary bed, where the frequency of occurrence of critical stenosis was 28.4%.

Oclusão ostial iatrogênica do tronco da coronária esquerda e da coronária direita após substituição cirúrgica da válvula aórtica

Surgical aortic valve replacement is the gold standard for treatment of severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. Complications directly related to surgical procedure are relatively infrequent. Coronary ostial stenosis is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication, whose exact pathogenetic mechanism is not known, but a few hypotheses have been proposed. We present a case of a recurrent acute coronary syndrome during the first 12 months after simultaneous surgical aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting, as a result of bilateral [...]

711 Triple Vessel Coronary Artery Ectasia Presenting With ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction in a Young Indigenous Man

We present the first case of triple coronary artery ectasia in a previously well Indigenous Australian presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. A 26 year old previously well Indigenous Australian male was admitted with anterior ST elevation myocardial infarction associated with an out of hospital ventricular fibrillation arrest. The patient was loaded with dual antiplatelet therapy and thrombolysed with 50mg tenecteplase prior transfer to our tertiary centre for rescue percutaneous coronary intervention due to <50% ST segment resolution and ongoing chest pain. Coronary angiography demonstrated thrombotic occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending artery with prominent vascular ectasia of all three arteries. Thrombus aspiration was not performed due to perceived high risk of systemic cardioembolic events. PCI was not attempted due to significant vascular ectasia preventing stent apposition within the grossly dilated vessel wall. He was managed with surgical thrombectomy and coronary artery bypass graft of the left anterior descending artery. There is no consensus approach in the management of isolated coronary artery ectasia presenting with acute coronary syndrome due to the paucity of prospective trials in its management. The management principles currently are to administer aspirin and to relieve the underlying obstructive lesion by percutaneous coronary intervention and failing that, cardiac surgery.

Hybrid Coronary Artery Revascularization: A Review and Current Evidence.

The role of hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR), which utilizes the combination of minimally invasive surgical coronary artery bypass grafting of the left anterior descending artery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of non-left anterior descending vessels to treat multivessel coronary artery disease, is expanding. We set out to provide a review of this technology. We conducted a retrospective analysis of all minimally invasive hybrid operations performed at our institution from September 2004 to December 2018. An effective analysis comparing patients undergoing HCR vs off-pump or on-pump surgical coronary artery revascularization was undertaken using an adjusted analysis with inverse-probability weighting based on the propensity score. Outcomes that were assessed include death, myocardial infarction, stroke, atrial fibrillation, renal failure, requirement of blood transfusion, conversion to open procedure (in the hybrid group), length of stay in intensive care unit, and total length of stay in hospital. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed. An up-to-date literature review of HCR complements this study. Since 2004 a total of 191 consecutive patients (61.4±11.1 years; 142 males and 49 females) underwent HCR (robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass graft of the left internal thoracic artery to the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and PCI of a non-LAD vessel) in a single- or double-stage fashion. Successful HCR occurred in 183 of the 191 patients (8 patients required intraoperative conversion to conventional coronary bypass). From our comparative analysis and literature review we found no significant difference between HCR and coronary artery bypass grafting groups with respect to in-hospital and 1-year follow-up. Current evidences suggest that HCR is a feasible, safe, and effective coronary artery revascularization strategy in selected patients with multivessel coronary artery disease.

Association between surgical volume and clinical outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting in contemporary practice.

Studies assessing the association between surgical volume and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) outcomes yielded conflicting results. Given the substantial recent decrease in CABG volume, we sough to examine the volume-outcomes effect in contemporary practice. The National Readmission Database was queried to identify patients undergoing CABG between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2016. Risk-adjusted in-hospital morbidity, mortality, length-of-stay, cost, and 30-day readmission were compared between low-, intermediate-, and high-volume centers. A total of 411 159 CABG hospitalizations at 1558 hospitals were included. Hospitals were classified into three tertiles (high > 250, intermediate 100-250, and low-volume < 100). Hospitals in the highest tertile (n = 568) performed 73.9% of all CABG operations, while those in the intermediate (n = 452), and low (n = 538) volume tertiles performed only 21.7% and 4.4% of all CABGs, respectively. The median number of CABGs performed at high-, intermediate-, and low-volume hospitals was 45 316 335, respectively. After risk adjustment, undergoing CABG at low- or intermediate- volume hospital (vs high-volume hospitals) was associated with higher in-hospital death (odd ratio [OR] = 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-1.44, and OR = 1.11, 95% CI, 1.05-1.17, respectively, P < .001). Similarly, adjusted odds of stroke, acute kidney injury, and blood transfusion were higher at low- and intermediate-volume centers compared with high-volume centers. Undergoing CABG at a low-volume center was associated with 50% higher adjusted cost and 77% higher adjusted 30-day readmissions. In contemporary practice, in which one-third of CABG-capable hospitals perform < 100 CABG operations annually, a strong relationship is observed between surgical volume and adjusted in-hospital morbidity, mortality, cost, and 30-day readmission.

Trials Comparing Percutaneous And Surgical Myocardial Revascularization: A Review.

Ischemic heart diseases are the major leading cause of death worldwide. Revascularization procedures dramatically reduced the overall risk for death related to acute coronary syndromes. Two kinds of myocardial revascularization can grossly be outlined: percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and surgical coronary artery bypass graft intervention (CABG). The net clinical benefit coming from these two kinds of procedures is still under debate. We have traced the state-of-the-art background about myocardial revascularization procedures by comparing the most important trials dealing with the evaluation of percutaneous interventions versus a surgical approach to coronary artery diseases. Both PCI and CABG have become effective treatments for revascularization of patients suffering from advanced CAD. The advance in technology and procedural techniques made PCI an attractive and, to some extent, more reliable procedure in the context of CAD. However, there are still patients that cannot undergo PCI and have to be rather directed towards CABG. CABG still remains the best strategy for the treatment of multiple vessel CAD due to improved results in term of survival and freedom from reintervention. Anyway, a systematic, multidisciplinary approach to revascularization is the fundamental behaviour to be chased in order to effectively help the patients in overcoming its diseases. The creation of the "heart team" seems to be a good option for the correct treatment of patients suffering from stable and unstable CAD.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement- management of patients with significant coronary artery disease undergoing aortic valve interventions: surgical compared to catheter-based approaches in hybrid procedures

BackgroundCoronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with poorer outcomes after aortic valve replacement (AVR). For high-risk patients with complex CAD, combined transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) plus off-pump/minimally-invasive coronary artery bypass (OPCAB/MIDCAB) has been proposed.MethodsA prospective registry analysis was performed to compare the characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing TAVR+OP/MIDCAB with those undergoing TAVR plus percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and surgical AVR plus coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between 2008 and 2015 at a single site in Germany.Results464 patients underwent SAVR+CABG, 50 underwent TAVR+OP/MIDCAB, and 112 underwent TAVR+PCI. The mean ages (p < 0.001) and logistic EuroSCOREs (p < 0.001) were similarly higher in TAVR+OP/MIDCAB and TAVR+PCI patients compared to SAVR+CABG patients. Prior cardiac surgery was more common in TAVR+PCI than in TAVR+OP/MIDCAB and SAVR+CABG patients (p < 0.001). Procedural times were shortest (p < 0.001), creatine kinase (muscle brain) levels least elevated (p < 0.001), pericardial tamponade least common (p = 0.027), and length of hospital stay shortest (p = 0.011) in TAVR+PCI, followed by TAVR+OP/MIDCAB and SAVR+CABG patients. In-hospital mortality was highest for TAVR+OP/MIDCAB patients (18.0%) with comparable rates for TAVR+PCI and SAVR+CABG groups (9.0 and 6.9%; p = 0.009). Mortality by 12 months was more probable after TAVR+OP/MIDCAB (HR: 2.17, p = 0.002) and TAVR/PCI (HR: 1.63, p = 0.010) than after SAVR+CABG, with the same true of rehospitalisation (HR: 2.39, p = 0.003 and HR: 1.63, p = 0.033).ConclusionsTAVR+OP/MIDCAB patients share many characteristics with TAVR+PCI patients, with only slightly poorer long-term outcomes. In patients ineligible for SAVR+CABG and TAVR+PCI, hybrid interventions are reasonable second-line options.

Significance of Coronary Revascularization for Coronary-Artery Obstructive Lesions Due to Kawasaki Disease

As an acquired ischemic heart disease in childhood, coronary-artery disease caused by Kawasaki disease (KD) has been known worldwide since the mid-1970s. KD patients who develop coronary-artery obstructive disease often need revascularization some time in their life. Coronary-artery revascularization for KD coronary lesions can be done with the surgical coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures. However, the characteristics of coronary-arterial lesions caused by KD significantly differ from atherosclerotic coronary disease in adults. Therefore, it is much more difficult to determine the optimal time and selection of a coronary-artery revascularization procedure for KD sequelae. CABG using the internal thoracic artery has been accepted as a very useful and beneficial procedure since the mid-1980s, even in small children. Although the use of PCI in the late period can be effective in some adolescent and adult patients, the small vessel size and severe coronary-artery calcification are often limiting factors for its use in children. Therefore, CABG is a better approach for severe leftanterior descending artery and multiple-vessel disease in children and adolescents with KD coronary sequelae. Good coronary revascularization can improve the long-term outcomes of patients with severe KD complications.

Transcatheter or surgical treatment of severe aortic stenosis and coronary artery disease: A comparative analysis from the Italian OBSERVANT study

BackgroundTo assess clinical outcomes of patients with concomitant severe aortic stenosis (AS) and coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). MethodsData were extracted from the multicenter OBSERVANT study. For the purposes of the present analysis, we included only patients with established stable CAD meeting any of the following inclusion criteria: 1) TAVI patients with CAD undergoing staged PCI or TAVI and PCI in the same session; 2) SAVR patients undergoing combined SAVR and CABG in the same session. ResultsAfter propensity-score matching, a total of 472 patients (236 per group) were identified. Among TAVI patients, PCI was performed prior to the procedure in 217 patients (92.0%), whereas concomitant TAVI and PCI were performed in 19 patients (8.0%). At 3-year, there was no difference in survival between the two groups (KM estimate of freedom from death for SAVR and TAVI patients of 0.742 and 0.650, respectively; log-rank p-value of 0.105). The rate of MACCE was comparable between the two groups (KM estimate of freedom from MACCE for SAVR and TAVI patients of 0.683 and 0.582, respectively; log-rank p-value of 0.115). ConclusionsIn patients with associated severe AS and CAD, percutaneous treatment (TAVR and staged or concomitant PCI) was comparable to surgical treatment (SAVR and concomitant CABG) with respect to the early and mid-term risk of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, stroke and unplanned revascularization.

OP-380 - Still an Open Discussion; Hypothesis of Open Vessel or Open Valve

Introduction: Degenerative, calcific severe aortic stenosis (AS) is the most frequent heart valve disease in the elderly. In this population, the co-existence of AS and coronary artery disease (CAD) is often due to same risk factors. For treatment surgical aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting are the main procedures. However, in recent years the use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI) is increasing as a less invasive treatment option in patients with intermediate-high risk profile. Yet, there is still a controversial regarding the prognostic importance of CAD in TAVI procedure. Coronary artery disease management in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement is questionable currently.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation and off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery: an effective hybrid procedure in selected patients.

Simultaneous surgical off-pump coronary revascularization and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) as a hybrid procedure may be a therapeutic option for patients with a TAVI indication who are not suitable for percutaneous coronary intervention and for patients who have an indication for combined surgical aortic valve implantation and coronary artery bypass grafting but present with a porcelain aorta. Early outcomes of these patients are analysed in this study. From February 2011 to April 2017, hybrid TAVI/off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) was performed in 12 (60%) patients, hybrid TAVI/minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass in 6 (30%) patients and staged TAVI/OPCAB in 2 (10%) patients. Endpoints of this study were 30-day mortality, device success and postoperative adverse events as defined by the updated Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC-2). The median age at the time of surgery was 77 years [interquartile range (IQR), 70-81] with a median logistic EuroSCORE and Society of Thoracic Surgeons' Predicted Risk score of 16.1% (IQR, 9.3-28.1) and 3.9% (IQR, 2.2-5.6), respectively. The median Synergy between PCI with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery score was 16.5 (IQR, 9.8-22.8). TAVI implantation routes were transaortic in 9 (45%) patients, transapical and transfemoral in 5 (25%) patients each and trans-subclavian in 1 (5%) patient. Complete myocardial revascularization was achieved in 75% of patients. Device success rate was 100%. Paravalvular aortic regurgitation did not exceed mild in any patient. Stroke/transient ischaemic attack, vascular complications and myocardial infarction were not observed. Re-exploration for bleeding was required in 1 (5%) patient. Thirty-day mortality was 0%. Hybrid OPCAB/MIDCAB and TAVI prove to be a safe and effective alternative treatment option in selected higher risk patients.

Aneurysmal coronary artery disease: An overview.

Aneurysmal coronary artery disease (ACAD) comprises both coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) and coronary artery ectasia (CAE). The reported prevalence of ACAD varies widely from 0.2 to 10%, with male predominance and a predilection for the right coronary artery (RCA). Atherosclerosis is the commonest cause of ACAD in adults, while Kawasaki disease is the commonest cause in children and adolescents, as well as in the Far East. Most patients are asymptomatic, but when symptoms do exist, they are usually related to myocardial ischemia. Coronary angiography is the mainstay of diagnosis, but follow up is best achieved using noninvasive imaging that does not involve exposure to radiation. The optimal management strategy in patients with ACAD remains controversial. Medical therapy is indicated for the vast majority of patients and includes antiplatelets and/or anticoagulants. Covered stents effectively limit further expansion of the affected coronary segments. Surgical ligation, resection, and coronary artery bypass grafting are appropriate for large lesions and for associated obstructive coronary artery disease.

Prevention of sudden cardiac death after revascularization for coronary heart disease

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the leading cause of death in adults worldwide. Coronary heart disease is the underlying reason for most of the patients with SCD, including acute coronary syndrome and chronic ischemic heart disease. Revascularization is an important treatment technology for coronary heart disease, which includes percutaneous coronary intervention and surgical coronary artery bypass grafting. However, according to the recommended guidelines, even with the use of secondary prevention strategies such as medication treatment and a complete revascularization, there are still a great number of patients who have reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, heart failure, and ventricular arrhythmia at different stages in the course of disease. SCD remains to be a serious challenge in the long-term management of ischemic heart disease patients who have had revascularization. Here, we focus on broader issues of concerns to provide more insights by comprehensive recommendations for the clinical treatment of coronary artery disease after revascularization for SCD prevention.

Interleukin-6 downregulated vascular smooth muscle cell contractile proteins via ATG4B-mediated autophagy in thoracic aortic dissection.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) overexpression played an important role in the pathogenesis of thoracic aortic dissection (TAD). Our previous study found enhanced autophagy accompanying with contractile proteins α smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and smooth muscle 22α (SM22α) degradation in TAD aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Autophagy is an important way for intracellular proteins degradation, while IL-6 has been found as a contributing factor of autophagy in some cancers. These indicated IL-6 might contribute to the occurrence of TAD by promoting autophagy-induced contractile proteins degradation, which has not been investigated. The aim of the present study is to verify this hypothesis and investigate the mechanism of it. We collected 10 TAD and 10 control aortic specimens from patients underwent TAD surgical repair and coronary artery bypass grafting, respectively. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect mRNA expression. Protein expression level was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta overexpression adenovirus with green and red fluorescent protein tags and transmission electron microscopy were used to detect autophagy level in VSMCs. 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) and chloroquine were used to block autophagy in human VSMCs. Experiment results showed that the expression of IL-6 was significantly increased accompanying with up-regulated autophagy in TAD aortic wall compared with controls. In vitro results showed that IL-6 stimulation decreased the expression of VSMCs contractile proteins α-SMA and SM22α accompanying with up-regulated autophagy. Blocking autophagy with 3-MA or chloroquine inhibited IL-6 induced α-SMA and SM22α degradation. Further investigation showed that autophagy-related 4B cysteine peptidase (ATG4B) was significantly overexpressed in TAD aortic wall and played important role in IL-6 induced autophagy up-regulation. ATG4B knockdown blocked IL-6-induced autophagy and α-SMA and SM22α degradation, while ATG4B overexpression partly replaced the function of IL-6 in human VSMCs. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that IL-6 downregulated expression of VSMCs contractile proteins α-SMA and SM22α via enhancing ATG4B-mediated autophagy in TAD.

CArbon dioxide surgical field flooding and aortic NO-touch off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting to reduce Neurological injuries after surgical coronary revascularisation (CANON): protocol for a randomised, controlled, investigator and patient blinded single-centre superiority trial with three parallel arms

IntroductionNeurological injuries remain a major concern following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) that offsets survival benefit of CABG over percutaneous coronary interventions. Among numerous efforts to combat this issue is...

Случай успешной геометрической реконструкции левого желудочка и аортокоронарного шунтирования по поводу постинфарктной аневризмы сердца с одновременным иссечением папиллярных фиброэластом левого желудочка

Случай успешной геометрической реконструкции левого желудочка и аортокоронарного шунтирования по поводу постинфарктной аневризмы сердца с одновременным иссечением папиллярных фиброэластом левого желудочка

Hybrid Coronary Revascularization for the Treatment of Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease: A Multicenter Observational Study

BackgroundHybrid coronary revascularization (HCR) combines minimally invasive surgical coronary artery bypass grafting of the left anterior descending artery with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of non–left anterior descending vessels. HCR is increasingly used to treat multivessel coronary artery disease that includes stenoses in the proximal left anterior descending artery and at least 1 other vessel, but its effectiveness has not been rigorously evaluated. ObjectivesThis National Institutes of Health–funded, multicenter, observational study was conducted to explore the characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing clinically indicated HCR and multivessel PCI for hybrid-eligible coronary artery disease, to inform the design of a confirmatory comparative effectiveness trial. MethodsOver 18 months, 200 HCR and 98 multivessel PCI patients were enrolled at 11 sites. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) (i.e., death, stroke, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization) within 12 months post-intervention. Cox proportional hazards models were used to model time to first MACCE event. Propensity scores were used to balance the groups. ResultsMean age was 64.2 ± 11.5 years, 25.5% of patients were female, 38.6% were diabetic, and 4.7% had previous stroke. Thirty-eight percent had 3-vessel coronary artery disease, and the mean SYNTAX (Synergy Between PCI With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery) score was 19.7 ± 9.6. Adjusted for baseline risk, MACCE rates were similar between groups within 12 months post-intervention (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.063; p = 0.80) and during a median 17.6 months of follow-up (HR: 0.868; p = 0.53). ConclusionsThese observational data from this first multicenter study of HCR suggest that there is no significant difference in MACCE rates over 12 months between patients treated with multivessel PCI or HCR, an emerging modality. A randomized trial with long-term outcomes is needed to definitively compare the effectiveness of these 2 revascularization strategies. (Hybrid Revascularization Observational Study; NCT01121263)

Coronary artery bypass grafting in octogenarians: only when percutaneous coronary intervention is not feasible?

The aim of this study was to review recent literature reporting the results of coronary revascularization by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients older than 80 years. The review of recent studies on octogenarians demonstrates a surgical CABG advantage in the case of patients with increasing baseline coronary risk, such as severe multivessel disease, chronic total occlusions, and left ventricular dysfunction. PCI seems to be more appropriate for less severe degree and distribution of coronary lesions, and for subgroups of patients with higher surgical risk, such as acute coronary syndromes, reoperations, malignancy, dementia, poor mobility, frailty, and serious comorbidities contraindicating extracorporeal circulation. It is not the case that CABG is indicated only when there are contraindications to PCI. CABG confers more benefit than PCI in patients with increasing baseline cardiac risk, in the absence of serious systemic diseases that can reasonably reduce their life expectancy.CABG and PCI, with proper selection, should be considered complementary rather than competitive procedures in the therapy of octogenarians affected by coronary artery disease.

Coronary Stents: The Impact of Technological Advances on Clinical Outcomes.

Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) were proposed in the late 1970s as an alternative to surgical coronary artery bypass grafting for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Important technological progress has been made since. Balloon angioplasty was replaced by bare metal stents, which allowed to permanently scaffold the coronary vessel avoiding acute recoil and abrupt occlusion. Thereafter, the introduction of early generation drug-eluting stents (DES) has significantly improved clinical outcomes, primarily by markedly reducing the risk of restenosis. New generation DES with thinner stent struts, novel durable or biodegradable polymer coatings, and new limus antiproliferative agents, have further improved upon the safety and efficacy profile of early generation DES. The present article aims to review the impact of technological advances on clinical outcomes in the field of PCI with coronary stents, and to provide a brief overview on clinical margins of improvement and unmet needs of available DES.

6-minute walking test in patients after cabg - assessment of exercise capacity

Abstract Introduction: The 6-minute walk test is a well established diagnostic tool in clinical cardiology to determine exercise tolerance, prognostic measure, control and modify the implemented treatment. Aim: Assess exercise tolerance in patients with coronary artery disease after surgical coronary artery bypass grafting using 6-minute walk test in correlation with selected concomitant risk factors for coronary artery disease. Material and methods: Analysis of medical records of 100 randomly selected patients, diagnosed by coronary angiography and coronary heart disease, scheduled for CABG. Patients were evaluated using exercise tolerance as measured by 6MWT before and 12 months after CABG. The results were correlated with the selected risk factors. Results: The study group showed improvement in 6MWT distance of 43.17 m (± 104.41) at 12-months after CABG. In order to analyze which risk factors influenced the observed changes of the 6MWT distance, the obtained results were correlated with factors such as the age of patients, sex, hypertension and smoking. There was no effect of these parameters on shortening or lengthening the distance. Conclusions: 1. From selected coronary artery disease risk factors only hypertension adversely affected the 6MWT distance before CABG. 3. The CABG operation caused significant improvement of exercise tolerance in patients with worse baseline exercise tolerance.