Mortality in the first year after coronary artery bypass surgery. Irish Cardiac Surgery Register.

In the three years 1983-1985 the Irish Cardiac Surgery Register (ICSR) recorded details on 1,534 patients who underwent primary isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This unselected series of patients accounted for all such operations in the Republic of Ireland during this period and provides information on a wide spectrum of clinical subgroups of patients with ischaemic heart disease. There were 52 operative deaths (3.4%). At one year the number of deaths had risen to 75 (4.9%). Factors related to operative mortality were female sex, age greater than 60, left ventricular failure, history of myocardial infarction in the six weeks prior to surgery, poor left ventricular function and extensive disease of vessels to be grafted. All of the above factors except female sex were related to one year mortality. Analysis of late deaths (1.5%) separately showed evidence of pre-operative impaired left ventricular function to be an important prognostic indicator.