Delay in Coronary Bypass Surgery Increases Mortality Rate: A Study
Santosh Kumar Agarwal
September 21, 2008 In a study conducted in Vancouver, Canada, Boris Sobolev, Professor at the University of British Columbia and his colleagues found that patient with early surgery have a better survival chance than patient with delayed surgery, after coronary heart disease is diagnosed.
Findings at the University of British Columbia and neighboring hospitals, published in a journal BMC Health Services Research on 19th September'08, shows that patients who had died after surgery but before discharge from hospital was 1% among patients treated within recommended time compared to 1.5% among patients whose surgeries were delayed.
In this study, Sobolev and colleagues quantified surgery early if performed within six 6 weeks in ‘semi urgent’ cases and within 12 weeks in ‘non-urgent’ cases after a diagnosis is made.
This result is pertinent to Indian conditions where some patients try to avoid surgeries (out of mortal fear),” said Zile Singh Meharwal, director cardiac surgery at Escorts Heart Institute and Research Center. He added, “Sometimes diagnosis of the heart disease itself is delayed, but even after diagnosis, the patient delays things. In my experience, 2 out of 10 patient, particularly those without symptoms, are likely to delay surgery.”
Dr. Balbir Singh, a senior cardiologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi says, “We have seen patients seeking multiple opinion or drug treatment, but end up only delaying the matter. This delay may cause heart functiona to deteriorate further. A compromised heart function is among the most important factor that influences mortality after surgery.
Although the surgeons world over have already observed that an early surgery translates into better survival rates, the researchers until now have not been able to quantify the benefits of heart bypass surgery if performed in time.
Tags: Heart Bypass Surgery , Coronary Bypass Surgery , Research , India , Surgery
