RT Journal
A1 Mitka M
T1 CAbg and medical therapy perform equally well in patients with heart failure
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 2011
FD May 18
VO 305
IS 19
SP 1949
OP 1950
DO 10.1001/jama.2011.628
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2011.628
AB 
At issue is treatment of patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction. At the American College of Cardiology scientific session here in April, researchers compared the efficacy and safety of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery plus optimal medical therapy with medical therapy alone. The Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure (STICH) trial included 1212 patients with left ventricular ejection fraction of 35% or less and coronary artery disease amenable to CABG, who were randomized to either treatment strategy. After a median follow-up of 56 months, 218 of 610 patients randomized to CABG plus medical therapy died compared with 244 of 602 patients randomized to medical therapy alone; CABG plus medical therapy reduced death rates by 14% compared with medical therapy alone, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (Velazquez EJ et al. N Engl J Med. 2011;364[17]:1607-1616).