Bypass Surgery Is Shown to Extend Survival in Heart Failure

In this study, 20 percent of patients assigned to drug therapy alone had undergone bypass surgery by the end of the study. Study co-author George Sopko, M.D., a program director within the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), said the long-term analysis of CABG among patients with severe heart disease is important for clinical practice. “There are risks associated with all surgical procedures, so the benefits need to be followed for a long time,” Sopko said. “If surgery can be done with reasonable risk and extends life, it becomes the recommended approach.” The clinical trial was sponsored by the NHLBI, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.  In addition to Velazquez and Sopko, study co-authors include Kerry L. Lee, Robert H. Jones, Hussein R. Al-Khalidi, James A. Hill, Julio A. Panza, Robert E. Michler, Robert O. Bonow, Torsten Doenst, Mark C. Petrie, Jae K. Oh, Lilin She, Vanessa L. Moore, Patrice Desvigne-Nickens and Jean L. Rouleau on behalf of the Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure Extension Study investigators.
Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news