Patients
The study included 697 patients who underwent isolated primary CABG, 375 in group A and 322 in group B. CABG with grafting to 3 or 4 coronary arteries was performed in 262 (70%) and 222 (69%), and bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting was used in 202 (54%) and 196 (61%) of patients from groups A and B, respectively. Two hundred and seventy six (74%) and 243 (75%) patients were male, diabetes was present in 135 (36%) and 158 (49%) patients, hypertension in 337 (90%) and 312 (97%) patients, and severe left ventricular dysfunction in 63 (17%) and 48 (15%) patients, in groups A and B, respectively (Table 1).