Glucose, Free Fatty Acids, and Insulin Following Acute Myocardial Ischemia

Adequate coronary revascularization may eventually lead to improved ventricular function, increased quality of life, and prolonged life expectancy, especially in patients with viable dysfunctional (hibernating) myocardium. In light of the growing cohort of elderly patients with chronic heart failure, future demand for surgical revascularization will be significant. However, in spite of numerous cardioprotective strategies, morbidity and mortality following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is still high in patients with chronic heart failure. Therefore, in these patients, the benefit of revascularization has to be balanced against the risk of morbidity and mortality. Table 1 shows the high risks for octagenarians undergoing cardiac operations [1].