Researchers reviewed the outcomes of 100 patients ages 85 to 94 who underwent elective open-heart procedures, such as coronary artery bypass grafting or valve replacement, at New York-Presbyterian Hospital between 1994 and 1997. They then followed the patients for an average of two years to determine the results: all of them had survived the surgery and half had lived 40 or more months. Likewise, of the 45 patients who responded to a questionnaire, 71% reported significant functional improvements, such as a decrease in breathing problems.
Furthermore, this study, published in the "American Journal of Medicine", shows that the hospital mortality rate had improved in the past decade, going from 11% in studies preceding 1994 to 8% in this study, and the same occurred with the 30-day mortality rate: from 12% to 7%.
