Science / Medicine : Survival Rate Better With Coronary Bypass

Coronary bypass surgery improves the survival of high-risk patients with heart disease, and the benefits persist for at least 12 years, according to a study of European men published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The research found that men with serious heart disease who got the operations outlived those who were treated with medicines. However, the difference between the two groups faded over time.

Two other long-running U.S. studies have found no benefit from the common operations on survival. However, experts say differences in the health of patients who took part in the three studies probably explain why the European outcome was better.

That study found that after five years, 92% of the bypass patients were alive, compared with 83% in a group treated with medicine. After 12 years, 71% of the surgical patients and 67% of the medical patients were living.

The study, directed by Dr. Edvardas Varnauskas of Sahlgrenska Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden, was conducted on 767 men, all under age 65, who had mild or moderate angina. Most were considered at high risk because of abnormal electrocardiograms and other signs of heart trouble.

In an editorial in the journal, Dr. Thomas Killip of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York wrote that the studies show that “surgical therapy improves prognosis in high-risk patients, but the advantage over medical therapy declines with longer follow-up.”