BACKGROUND The role of coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure has not been clearly established. METHODS Between July 2002 and May 2007, a total of 1212 patients with an ejection fraction of 35% or less and coronary artery disease amenable to CABG were randomly assigned to medical therapy alone (602 patients) or medical therapy plus CABG (610 patients). The primary outcome was the rate of death from any cause. Major secondary outcomes included the rates of death from cardiovascular causes and of death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes. RESULTS The primary outcome occurred in 244 patients (41%) in the medical-therapy group and 218 (36%) in the CABG group (hazard ratio with CABG, 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 1.04; P = 0.12). A total of 201 patients (33%) in the medical-therapy group and 168 (28%) in the CABG group died from an adjudicated cardiovascular cause (hazard ratio with CABG, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.00; P = 0.05). Death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes occurred in 411 patients (68%) in the medical-therapy group and 351 (58%) in the CABG group (hazard ratio with CABG, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.85; P<0.001). By the end of the follow-up period (median, 56 months), 100 patients in the medical-therapy group (17%) underwent CABG, and 555 patients in the CABG group (91%) underwent CABG. CONCLUSIONS In this randomized trial, there was no significant difference between medical therapy alone and medical therapy plus CABG with respect to the primary end point of death from any cause. Patients assigned to CABG, as compared with those assigned to medical therapy alone, had lower rates of death from cardiovascular causes and of death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Abbott Laboratories; STICH ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00023595.)

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Background Patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction have higher operative risk with CABG. However, those whose early risk is surpassed by subsequent survival benefit have not been identified. Objective To examine the impact of anatomic variables associated with poor prognosis on the effect of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) in ischemic cardiomyopathy. Methods All 1,212 patients in the STICH surgical revascularization trial were included. Patients had coronary artery disease (CAD), ejection fraction (EF) ≤35%, and were randomized to CABG plus medical therapy or optimal medical therapy alone (OMT). This study focused on 3 prognostic factors: presence of 3-vessel CAD; EF below the median (27%); and end-systolic volume index (ESVI) above the median (79 ml/m2). Patients were categorized as having 0–1 or 2–3 of these factors. Results Patients with 2–3 prognostic factors (n= 636) had reduced mortality with CABG, as compared to OMT (HR=0.71, 95% CI=0.56–0.89; p=0.004); CABG had no such effect in patients with 0–1 factors (HR=1.08, 95% CI=0.81–1.44; p=0.591). There was a significant interaction between the number of factors and the effect of CABG on mortality (p=0.022). Although 30-day risk with CABG was higher, a net beneficial effect of CABG over OMT was observed at >2years in patients with 2–3 factors (HR=0.53, 95% CI=0.37–0.75; p#x0003C;0.001), but not in those with 0–1 factors (HR=0.88, 95% CI=0.59–1.31; p=0.535). Conclusions Patients with more advanced ischemic cardiomyopathy receive greater benefit from CABG. This supports the indication for surgical revascularization in patients with more extensive CAD and worse myocardial dysfunction and remodeling. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00023595)

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