Radial artery or saphenous vein for coronary artery bypass grafting

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common cardiovascular disease worldwide, affecting over 18 million American adults. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the standard of care for patients with left main or triple vessel CAD. Historically, the saphenous vein (SV) has been utilized to bypass the majority of the coronary vessels in patients undergoing CABG, but more recent data suggest that the use of the radial artery (RA), rather than the SV, is associated with improved cardiac outcomes and better survival. The aim of this review is to summarize the current literature on the use of RA and SV for CABG in patients with multivessel CAD.