Radial artery grafting in women improves 15-year survival

This study by Dimitrova et al included 1339 patients who underwent CABG of which 332 patients received a LIMA with a radial artery and 1007 a LIMA with a SVG. In a propensity-matched cohort of 283 pairs, Kaplan-Meier survival in the radial artery versus SVG group at one year (99% vs. 97%), 5 years (93% vs. 87%), 10 years (80% vs. 72%) and 15 years (70% vs. 58%) favoured those receiving a radial artery (P=0.018). In a propensity-score adjusted multivariate analysis of the entire cohort, the use of a radial artery remained an independent predictor of long-term mortality: hazard ratio 0.64, 95% CI 0.44-0.90; P=0.017).