title: Statin treatment equalizes long-term survival between patients with single and bilateral internal thoracic artery grafts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The use of 2 internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafts increases survival 10 years after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) compared with single ITA grafting. Statin treatment was also shown to decrease development and progression of saphenous vein graft atherosclerosis. This study examined the effect of statin treatment on long-term survival after CABG.
  
  
  METHODS
  Operative, survival, and pharmacologic data of 6655 patients who underwent CABG with ITAs between 1995 and 2007 in our institution were obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with bilateral ITA grafts had an average 10-year-survival rate of 83% +/- 2% compared with 67% +/-1% in patients with single ITA grafts (p = 0.0001). Statin treatment caused a significant decrease in the long-term risk of death among patients who underwent single ITA grafting (hazard ratio [HR], 0.735, p = 0.0001). However, statin treatment had no effect on the risk of long-term death among patients who underwent bilateral ITA grafting (HR, 1.053; p = 0.7806).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Statin treatment initiated early after grafting improved long-term survival in patients with a single ITA graft but not in those with bilateral ITA grafts. Survival of statin-treated patients with single ITA grafts was similar to bilateral ITA patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, Montreal Heart Institute and Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. michel.carrier@icmmhi.org
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carrier
authors.forename: Mariève
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cossette
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pellerin
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hébert
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bouchard
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cartier
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Demers
authors.forename: Hugues
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeanmart
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pagé
authors.forename: Louis P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Perrault
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000368:Aged; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization / Q000379:methods*; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011792:Quebec; D012306:Risk; D016019:Survival Analysis; D017741:Survivors
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors