Data access has been approved for a project which will assess the influence of stroke on early and long-term survival following three types of cardiac surgery: open heart bypass surgery, heart valve surgery and combined bypass/valve surgery.
The study is funded by Cardiac Services BC and led by Dr Jennifer Higgins, a recent graduate of the UBC cardiac surgery program at St Paul’s hospital.
Stroke remains an infrequent, but potentially devastating, complication following open heart surgery. Age, gender, previous stroke, peripheral vascular disease and duration of cardiopulmonary bypass are among the predictors for developing a stroke following cardiac surgery.
“It is currently unclear whether experiencing a stroke following open heart surgery will reduce a patient's overall survival, and what risk factors may lead to this decreased survival,” says Dr Higgins.
The results of the study will inform future measures designed to decrease stroke burden and mortality following cardiac surgery in BC.
Population Data BC will link PharmaNet data from the BC Ministry of Health with Cardiac Services BC Registry data for the project.
