Left internal mammary artery use in patients with poor left ventricular ejection fraction: a propensity-matched analysis of mid-term survival.

We aimed to determine whether the use of left internal mammary artery (LIMA) to the left anterior descending (LAD) artery during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) confers an improved survival benefit to patients with an impaired preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Between April 1997 and March 2004, 7198 consecutive patients underwent first time CABG to the LAD. There were 627 patients who had an LVEF <30% and of these, 548 patients (87.

Reexploration for bleeding after coronary artery bypass surgery: risk factors, outcomes, and the effect of time delay.

Background: We aimed to identify risk factors for reexploration for bleeding after surgical revascularization in our practice. We also looked at the impact of resternotomy and the effect of time delay on mortality and other in-hospital outcomes.

Methods: In all, 2,898 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting between April 1999 and March 2002 were retrospectively analyzed from our cardiac surgery registry.