title: Grade of left main coronary artery stenosis does not influence long-term mortality after coronary artery bypass surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess if grade of left main coronary artery (LMCA) stenosis influences early or long-term mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
  
  
  METHODS
  Among all 1 384 patients with LMCA stenosis at Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden during 1990-1999, 131 deaths occurred within 5 years of surgery (cases). Matched controls (n=146) were randomly selected from all surviving LMCA patients taking gender, age and year of surgery into account. Angiographies were classified for grade of LMCA stenosis before the operation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High-grade LMCA stenosis was equally common among cases and controls (50 vs. 45%). The odds ratio (OR) of mortality 5 years after the operation in patients with high-grade versus low-grade LMCA stenosis based on the matched pairs was 1.2 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-2.0) and after multivariable adjustment using information on all subjects the OR was 1.0 (95% CI 0.6-1.7). For early and one year mortality similar odds ratios were observed but with wide confidence intervals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Grade of LMCA stenosis does not appear to influence early or long-term mortality after CABG performed during 1990-1999.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. anders.l.jonsson@karolinska.se
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jönsson
authors.forename: Torbjörn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ivert
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nordqvist
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hammar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000401:mortality*; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors