LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have contributed to a report that early use of aspirin after coronary bypass surgery is safe and associated with a reduced risk of death from complications.

Charles Napolitano, M.D., Ph.D., and Maria Castro, Ph.D., provided data for a report that appeared Oct. 24 in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. The article is one report of a worldwide study of ways to improve the outcomes from coronary bypass surgery.

A doctor with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation noted in an editorial in the same issue that this finding is "quite striking" and "intriguing," particularly for the implication that early use of aspirin following coronary bypass surgery has beneficial effects for the entire body, not just the cardiovascular system. Eric J. Topol, M.D., added that the study supports a recent recommendation by the American College of Chest Physicians to treat patients with 325 mg. of aspirin per day beginning six hours after surgery.
Researchers participating in the study, sponsored by the Ischemia Research and Education Foundation, are evaluating different practices that may improve outcomes for patients who have coronary bypass surgery.

The surgery is a common procedure to correct problems associated with coronary artery disease and is performed worldwide in 1 million patients per year. About 15 percent of patients in the United States experience complications, in part because they tend to be older and sicker than patients undergoing some other kinds of surgery.

Drs. Napolitano and Castro are collaborating with researchers at 70 other academic health centers in 17 countries in the study, known as the "the McSPI study group." Drs. Napolitano and Castro are focusing on ventricular dysrhythmias, or disturbances in the electrical activity of the heart, which can affect coronary bypass surgery patients. They are in the Department of Anesthesiology of the UAMS College of Medicine. They collected data about approximately 50 patients who received the surgery. They will interview the patients each year through 2005 to learn more about their long-term health following the surgery.

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Contact:
Leslie W. Taylor
501-686-8998
Wireless phone: 501-951-7260
leslie@uams.edu

Elizabeth F. Shores
501-686-8394
ShoresElizabethF@uams.edu

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