Established Preoperative Risk Factors Do Not Predict Long-Term Survival in Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Patients

Established operative risk factors may not be good predictors of long-term post-CABG survival. Late mortality may be attributable to many causes, not necessarily related to patients' cardiovascular and general health at the time of operation. Discussions with cardiothoracic surgeons and long-term shared decision making with primary care physicians/cardiologists should therefore not focus solely on patients' preoperative risk profile but should also emphasize the importance of preventing/controlling other diseases through a healthy lifestyle and compliance with disease management protocols.