IJCS | Volume 31, Nº3, May/ June 2018

260 Kaufman et al. Mortality in Elderly Individuals Submitted to Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences. 2018;31(3)258-263 Original Article Table 2 - Univariate analysis of surgical mortality by the presence of categorical variables potentially predictive of surgical death Variable Death (%) Survivor (%) p-value Combined surgery 40.00 15.82 < 0.001 NYHA Functional class III or IV 38.24 17.26 0.003 Emergency surgery 40.91 18.00 0.004 Use of statins in the preoperative period 16.84 30.43 0.017 Peripheral vascular disease 30.16 17.12 0.018 Previous surgery 31.37 17.35 0.019 Moderate/severe tricuspid regurgitation 60.00 18.44 0.019 Moderate/severe aortic regurgitation 38.89 18.07 0.029 Moderate/severe mitral regurgitation 34.78 17.93 0.040 Moderate/severe aortic stenosis 32.81 16.03 0.002 Nitrates in the preoperative period 33.33 17.99 0.051 Beta-blocker in the preoperative period 32.81 28.57 0.056 Male gender 17.60 22.95 0.220 Diabetes 15.74 20.91 0.253 Left main coronary artery lesion 18.59 19.52 0.822 NYHA: New York Heart Association . Table 3 - Univariate analysis of surgical mortality by the presence of continuous variables potentially predictive of surgical death Variable Survivor Death p-value Left atrial dimension, cm 3.91 (3.84-3.98) 4.13 (3.94-4.32) 0.0129 Body mass index, kg/m 2 26.11 (25.72-26.50) 26.80 (25.36-28.24) 0.3162 Age, years 74.15 (71.73-7.08) 74.81 (72.16-77.23) 0.3505 Left ventricular ejection fraction, % 58.77 (57.12-60.43) 55.76 (51.62-59.90) 0.7250 Pulmonary artery systolic pressure, mmHg 35.50 (32.11-38.89) 39.83 (33.97-45.68) 0.9114 In the univariate analysis (Tables 2 and 3), the following were markers of surgical death: emergency surgery, combined valvular surgery, previous surgery, peripheral vascular disease, NYHA functional class III/IV, increased left atrial diameter, lower preoperative statin use, increased need for preoperative nitrate use, moderate/ severe aortic regurgitation, moderate/severe aortic stenosis, and moderate/severe tricuspid regurgitation. The multivariate analysis was performed in two stages and, in the final stage, the presence of peripheral vascular disease, the need for emergency surgery and the combined procedure with valve replacement were found to be independent predictors of death (Tables 4 and 5). Discussion The objective of coronary artery bypass grafting is to correct myocardial ischemia resulting from coronary artery obstruction, aiming at relieving symptoms, improving quality of life and allowing the patient to return to work, as well as increasing life expectancy. 9 It is a revascularizationmethodwith higher percentage of complete revascularization and reduction of anginal episodes. In contrast, there is a longer hospital length of stay and a higher incidence of complications during surgical hospitalization, whichmakes this surgery a second alternative for patients requiring revascularization. 9 The epidemiological characteristics of patients submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting show that most patients are males, with a mean age of 60 years, arterial hypertension as the most prevalent risk factor and preserved left ventricular function. 10,11 However, elderly patients have a greater number of comorbidities, when compared to younger patients. In addition to these comorbidities, the elderly’s