Mid- and Long-Term Outcomes of Total Arterial Myocardial Revascularization in Patients Aged 70 Years and Older: A Single-Center Experience.

Background Patients receiving arterial grafts have superior late survival after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The aim of our study was to evaluate the mid- and long-term results of total arterial (TA) revascularization in the elderly. Methods Between January 2005 and December 2012, a retrospective study on age-, gender-, and EuroSCORE-matched patients aged 70 years and older was performed. Altogether, 356 patients who received isolated CABG were assigned to either TA group or control (CON) group. Results No significant differences were noted in regard to preoperative risk factors. The number of distal anastomoses was significantly higher in the CON group (3.6 +/- 0.6 vs. 2.9 +/- 0.8; p < 0.001). Postoperatively, no significant differences were noted in regard to morbidity or mortality. There were no significant differences in mortality rate at 1 year (5.6 vs. 5.2%; p = 0.98), or 5 years (9.0 vs. 12.1%; p = 0.39) between both groups. However, the TA group was associated with significantly higher rate of event-free survival ( p = 0.017). Conclusion This study suggests that TA revascularization is an effective procedure. Lower rates of late cardiac events encourage the use of this concept for the elderly.