Insufficient funding

This single-centre cross-sectional study aims to ascertain the impact of dyslipidemia on long-term graft patency after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

All consecutive patients who underwent CABG from 1st January 2007 to 31st December 2008 at the Prince of Wales Hospital were eligible for entry.

Graft patency will be determined by computed tomography coronary angiogram. The severity of stenosis will be classified by the Fitzgibbon classification system.

The levels of individual lipid profile subcomponents, namely LDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol and triglycerides (TG) will be obtained. A plot of lipid profile subcomponent measurements against time will be compiled and the area under the curve is calculated to estimate gross exposure after CABG. Average lipid exposure is calculated by dividing the gross exposure by the number of days lapsed between the first and last lipid profile measurements.

The association between average cholesterol target attainment and graft patency will then be determined.

Inclusion Criteria:

- All consecutive patients on record who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery in 2007 and 2008

Exclusion Criteria:

• Death
• Single vessel LIMA-LAD anastomosis only
• Concomitant valve and aortic procedures
• Concomitant repair of post-infarct ventricular septal rupture
• Defaulted follow-up
• Informed consent cannot be obtained
• Intermediate to high risk for contrast nephropathy, defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 45 ml/min/1.73m2 or serum creatinine level <1.5 mg/dL (based on American College of Radiology criteria for diagnostic computed tomography risk)
• Pregnancy

All living consecutive patients on record who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery in 2007 and 2008 at Prince of Wales Hospital were eligible for participation. Patients were excluded if they were at high risk of contrast nephropathy.