Chronic coronary artery disease: drugs, angioplasty, or surgery?

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Abstract
An overview of randomised trials published in 1994 included data on about 2500 patients; it found that bypass surgery resulted in a highly significant overall reduction in mortality compared to initial medical treatment in patients with chronic coronary artery disease.2 This difference in mortality was clearly evident only after four to five years of follow up and was confined to patients at high and moderate risk of death (those with five year mortality during medical treatment ranging from 25% to about 12%, in whom the risk reduction with bypass surgery was 50% and about 37%, respectively.) Patients at low risk of death (those with five year mortality rates of about 5%) were not likely to live longer after bypass surgery.