Usefulness of RISKO Heart Hazard Appraisal to Quantify CAD risk factor burden on the preoperative functioning of coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients.

The preoperative status of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgical patients is often evaluated as a means to assess operative risk for mortality and morbidity and to inform how preoperative status influences or predicts outcomes following CABG surgery. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factor burden on CABG patients' preoperative functioning (functional status and functional capacity). A convenience sample of 152 subjects, 65 years and older, who had been consecutively enrolled in a larger randomized clinical trial, was evaluated. The RISKO Heart Hazard Appraisal was used to quantify CAD risk factor burden of the subjects. There were significant differences by CAD risk factor burden group, with subjects in the highest CAD risk factor burden group having poorer general health functioning (F2,147=3.45; P<.05) and functional capacity (F2,147=5.43; P<.01). These findings elucidate the potential usefulness of evaluating CABG patients' preoperative CAD risk factor burden status.