Aortic sclerosis is associated with mortality and major morbidity in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery

Objective In this study, we aim to investigate the association between aortic sclerosis and mortality and major morbidity in patients with established coronary artery disease undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Design Preoperative echocardiograms of consecutive patients undergoing isolated CABG between 2007 and 2009 (n=1150) were analysed, excluding patients without an echocardiogram in the 30 days prior to surgery (n=483). Using logistic regression, we evaluated the association between aortic sclerosis and inhospital mortality and major morbidity. Using Cox proportional hazards, the effect on long-term all-cause mortality was determined.