Relationship between graft patency, postoperative work status, and symptomatic relief.

In 405 men under the age of 65 requiring coronary bypass, in whom 6 month postoperative arteriograms were performed, we compared graft patency to postoperative work status and recurrent symptoms. We divided the population into subgroups of patients with varying degrees of patency. When these subgroups were tested, no significant dependence was found between the degree of graft patency and the percentages of patients who were working after operation, unless certain subgroups were removed from the population. When relief of angina was examined in the same manner as the postoperative work, we found a significant dependence between the graft patency and the percentage of patients who reported either short or long-term relief of angina in all groups. Because the rate of rehabilitation was high, even in patients with occluded grafts, and because older patients were less likely to return to work than younger patients despite successful revascularization, we conclude that physician emphasis on work rehabilitation and patient age, as well as graft patency, are all important factors which influence postoperative work status.