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Article: TEST MAY AID PATIENTS FACING BYPASS SURGERY
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- December 5, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Predicting which patients will recover well after coronary artery
bypass surgery, and which are at the greatest risk of dying from the
operation, can be difficult for doctors. But a noninvasive test could
soon help, according to researchers at the Veterans Administration
Hospital in Dallas.
Paul A. Grayburn and his colleagues evaluated a technique that
uses an adrenalin-like drug and an imaging technique called
echocardiography to predict how well patients will recover from
coronary artery bypass surgery.
The open-heart operation involves grafting a new blood vessel onto
the heart to replace one blocked with atherosclerotic deposits. But
some patients have lost so much heart function by the ...