Women ‘more at risk’ after heart surgery

Higher rates of infection could explain why women are at greater risk than men following heart bypass surgery.

More than half a million coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgeries are performed in the United States every year, making it one of the most common surgical procedures in the country.

Physicians have known for a while that women have a higher risk of death than men following coronary artery bypass surgery, but the explanations for this remain controversial.

Previously suggested reasons for the disparity include differences in artery size or higher rates of other diseases among women.

But a new study published today in the Achieves of Internal Medicine postulates a new answer: infection rates.

The researchers, led by Dr Mary Rogers of the University of Michigan, followed over 9,000 patients who underwent a heart bypass in 1997 and 1998. It found that 16 per cent of women developed an infection, as opposed to 9.8 per cent of men.

More patients with infections died in the hospital (11.9 per cent) than did without an infection (4 per cent) and the relationship between infection and death was stronger in men than in women. Men with an infection were three times as likely to die as men without, while infected women had an increased risk of 1.8 times that of uninfected women.

“Clearly, infection is an important factor when evaluating the association between sex and mortality after CABG surgery,” the researchers concluded.

“As a direct indicator of patient safety, infection at any site, regardless of time of onset, warrants additional investigation as a potential contributor to mortality.”

They urge all hospitals to ensure they follow infection control procedures robustly ? particularly when it comes to the administration of antibiotics.

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