The clinical spectrum of coronary artery disease and its surgical and medical management, 1974-1979. The Coronary Artery Surgery study.

Data from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS) are used to describe the types of persons who undergo coronary angiography for possible coronary artery bypass surgery, the reasons patients receive coronary bypass surgery, and operative mortality results, as well as changing trends in the therapy assigned. The review is designed to provide background material for those assessing coronary artery bypass technology.