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Background The incidence of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) performed in elderly patients has been increasing over recent years. We sought to evaluate clinical outcomes of octogenarians undergoing CABG using an audited state-wide mandatory database. Methods New York State Department of Health's Cardiac Reporting System was analyzed from 1998 to 2002. In all, 88,154 patients undergoing isolated CABG were identified. Patients were divided into four age groups: less than 50 years (group 1, n=6,527), 50 to 64 years (group 2, n=30,088), 65 to 79 years (group 3, n=43,369), and 80 years and above (group 4, n=8,170). Results Of all patients, 9.3% were octogenarians. In addition to marginally worse coronary artery disease, octogenarians generally manifested a higher incidence of preoperative risk factors such as cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, and congestive heart failure compared with younger patients at baseline. Both length of hospital stay and in-hospital mortality rate were significantly higher among octogenarians. The incidence of postoperative complications was higher among octogenarians. Multivariate analysis demonstrated renal failure requiring dialysis (odds ratio [OR] = 4.4), myocardial infarction within 6 hours before surgery (OR = 3.6), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 1.7), congestive heart failure at admission (OR = 1.7), emergent operation (OR = 1.6), Canadian Cardiovascular Society functional class IV (OR = 1.5), hypertension (OR = 1.4), and low ejection fraction (OR = 0.98) to be significant independent predictors of in-hospital mortality of octogenarians. Discharge to home rates were significantly lower for octogenarians. Conclusions Although early outcomes in octogenarians are acceptable, these factors alone are not sufficient to reflect overall success of CABG in these patients, given the strikingly lower discharge to home rates. Attention to full functional recovery in octogenarians is essential.

Mechanical unloading during left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support may lead to cardiac recovery. Predictors of recovery, however, have not been identified. We aimed to evaluate the time course and durability of echocardiographic, electrocardiographic (ECG), histologic, and neurohormonal changes that occur with LVAD support and to screen for non-invasive markers of cardiac recovery.LVAD patients underwent monthly testing, including echocardiographic, ECG, and serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurement. Paired myocardial tissue samples from implant and explant were also analyzed.Thirty-six LVAD patients were prospectively followed for an average of 101 +/- 99 days. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) significantly improved at 30 days compared with pre-LVAD (19% +/- 6.6% vs 33% +/- 8.1%, 7.1 +/- 1.2 cm vs 4.9 +/- 1.0 cm, respectively; both p0.001), with no improvement thereafter. At 30 days, QRS duration and QTc interval were significantly decreased from pre-LVAD (both p0.05). There was a marked reduction in BNP, myocyte size, and collagen deposition with LVAD support (all p0.01). In screening for markers of recovery, the decrease in QTc was inversely related to LVEDD at 60 days. Changes in QRS and myocyte diameter also correlated with the improvement in LVEF at 30 days. No patients had sufficient recovery for device explantation.We demonstrate echocardiographic, ECG, histologic, and neurohormonal improvement during LVAD support. Cardiac recovery peaked by 60 days, and there was a trend toward progressive improvement in QRS duration with ongoing support. We report the association of ECG changes with echocardiographic and histologic improvements. Future prospective studies may yield important markers of recovery.

Background Right heart failure (RHF) is not an infrequent complication of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Few studies have examined outcomes for LVAD patients who subsequently develop RHF. This study details one center's experience with RHF in chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. Methods One hundred eight patients with chronic CHF (≥6 months) who underwent HeartMate LVAD implantation were identified during June 1996 to July 2004. Acute heart failure patients requiring LVADs were excluded to eliminate the impact of confounding non-cardiac factors. RHF was defined as the need for a subsequent right ventricular assist device (RVAD), ≥14 days of intravenous inotropes/pulmonary vasodilators, or both. Forty-two (38.9%) RHF patients were identified. Fourteen of these required RVAD insertion. Outcome parameters included early (≤30-day) mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), incidence of re-operation for bleeding and acute renal failure, and stroke, bridge-to-transplantation rate and post-transplantation survival rate. Results More female patients developed RHF than not (73.3% vs 26.7%, p = 0.003). RHF patients had a higher early mortality rate, greater ICU LOS, higher rates of re-operation for bleeding and renal failure, and lower bridge-to-transplantation rate than non-RHF patients (19.0% vs 6.2%, p = 0.039; 23.8 ± 23.7 vs 9.6 ± 7.1 days, p p = 0.026; 61.0% vs 22.6%, p p = 0.003; respectively). Fourteen (33.3%) RHF patients required RVAD insertion. Elevated intra-operative central venous pressure (CVP) was found to be an independent predictor of post-LVAD RHF. Overall bridge-to-transplantation rate for the entire study cohort was 73.1%. Conclusions The development of RHF after LVAD insertion confers significant morbidity and mortality. Judicious application of inotropes and pulmonary vasodilators and timely RVAD insertion, if necessary, should be maintained. Further investigations evaluating pre- and intra-operative risk factors for the development of RHF are warranted.

ObjectiveThe use of left ventricular assist devices as a bridge to transplantation for patients with chronic congestive heart failure is well accepted. However, few studies have examined outcomes solely for these patients. This study details one center’s left ventricular assist device experience with this population.MethodsTwo hundred one patients received HeartMate left ventricular assist devices (Thoratec Corp, Pleasanton, Calif) from January 1, 1996, to April 30, 2004. Of these, 119 (59.2%) had chronic congestive heart failure (diagnosis >6 months) as the primary indication. Outcome parameters included early mortality after left ventricular assist device placement (

Background— Patients with low ejection fraction (EF) are at a higher risk for postoperative complications and mortality. Our objective was to assess the effect of low EF on clinical outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods and Results— We analyzed 55,515 patients from New York State database who underwent CABG between 1997 and 1999. Patients were stratified into 1 of the 4 EF groups: Group I (EF≤20%), Group II (EF 21% to 30%), Group III (EF 31% to 40%), and Group IV (EF>40%). History of previous myocardial infarction, renal failure, and congestive heart failure were higher in patients with low EF (all P P P Conclusions— Patients with low EF are sicker at baseline and have >4 times higher mortality than patients with high EF. However, outcomes are improving over time and are superior to historical data. Therefore, CABG remains a viable option in selected patients with low EF.