Introduction
As the population, ages an increasing number of older patients are being
referred for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for cardiovascular
diseases [1, 2]. Octogenarians, as the fastest growing stratum of
the population and with the highest prevalence of coronary artery
disease, are particularly more often being sent to cardiothoracic
surgeons for surgical revascularization (Figure 1) [3]. Similarly,
in Germany, during the years 1989 to 2000, there was an increase in the
proportion of patients aged ≥70 who underwent cardiac surgery from
11.2% to 36.7% [4]. One of the concerns of operating on older
patients is often the trepidation of poor surgical outcomes. There is an
apprehension that patients at an advanced age will not recover as well
or perhaps have fragile tissue. The same alarm is shared by cardiologist
who consider Octogenarians at the highest risk for procedural
complications during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) owing to
their greater prevalence of associated comorbidities and more depressed
cardiac function [5, 6]. Although, the results of CABG among
Octogenarians are inferior to those of younger patients, CABG outcomes
for Octogenarians are better than that of PCI or medical therapy alone.
[7]. Currently, there is no clear consensus in the literature on the
impact of age on CABG patient outcomes.
The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of age on postoperative
outcomes in older patients that undergo CABG. Specifically, the aim is
to determine whether Septuagenarians have better results compared to
Octogenarians and assess the effect of gender in octogenarians on
postsurgical outcomes.