Effect of coronary artery diameter in patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery. Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group

Abstract

Background: Coronary artery diameter is known to be inversely associated with perioperative mortality related to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This association is believed to be responsible for increased risk among women and smaller people. However, the associations between sex, body size, and coronary size have not been carefully examined because direct information about coronary size is rarely available. Also, whether sex has an independent effect on vessel size is largely unknown.

Methods and results: Height, weight, sex, age, status at hospital discharge, and luminal diameter of the midleft anterior descending coronary artery (mid-LAD) were recorded prospectively in 1325 patients undergoing CABG. Small vessel size was associated with substantially increased risk of in-hospital mortality (15.8% for 1.0-mm vessels, 4.6% for 1.5- to 2.0-mm vessels, and 1.5% for 2.5- to 3.5-mm vessels, P[trend] < .001). Vessel size was strongly related to both sex and measures of body size. In multiple linear regression analysis, vessel size was positively correlated with body surface area (P[trend] < .01), body mass index (P[trend] = .004), height (P[trend] = .001), and weight (P[trend] = .001). After controlling for differences in age and body size, sex remained an important predictor of coronary size. Within each quartile of each body-size measure, mid-LAD diameter in men was greater than that in women (mean difference [range], 0.14 to 0.23 mm).

Conclusions: Small mid-LAD diameter is associated with substantially increased risk of in-hospital mortality with CABG. Although body size is correlated with mid-LAD diameter, women have smaller coronary arteries than men after controlling for differences in body size. These findings further support the hypothesis that smaller coronary arteries explain higher perioperative mortality with CABG in women and smaller people.