March 5, 2001 – Heart bypass surgery, one of the most common cardiac surgery procedures, prolongs the life of many people, but for a large percentage, the operation results in cognitive impairment .
According to research carried out at Duke University with 261 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, cognitive impairment could be observed in 42% of them five years after the operation. The older the patients were at the time of the operation, the more likely the negative impact of the procedure was.
Surgeons believe that it is the heart-lung pump used to oxygenate and circulate the patient’s blood while their heart has been stopped that is responsible for this degradation, either because small blood clots go to the brain or because the temperature of the pumped blood is not high enough. These facts have been known for a very long time, as evidenced by a research review dating back to 1996, but cardiac surgeons do not seem very inclined to inform their patients of the possible consequences of bypass surgery.
Given the risk for patients, some surgeons perform bypass surgery not stopping the heart from beating, but this technique (called beating heart) would only be used in 15-20% of operations.
HealthPassport.net
Cox News Service, February 21, 2001.
Borowicz LM, Goldsborough MA, Selnes OA, McKhann GM. Neuropsychologic change after cardiac surgery: a critical review.J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 1996 Jan; 10 (1): 105-11; quiz 111-2. Review.
