Long-term survival after coronary artery bypass grafting

The most quoted long-term outcome studies from the coronary artery bypass surgery literature were performed in the 1970s, and these trials--the Coronary Artery Surgery Study, the Veterans Administration Study, and the European Cooperative Study--added significantly to our knowledge of the efficacy of bypass surgery. However, important studies are still being performed and are refining our knowledge of long-term outcomes. This review covers early factors that affect long-term outcome, and recent information concerning particular subgroups of patients undergoing bypass surgery. In addition, new information is becoming available about the relative roles of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and coronary artery bypass grafting, and these studies are also discussed.