Public Health (2008) 122, 151–160 Original Research Coronary artery bypass graft surgery trends in New South Wales, Australia D.P. Weerasinghe a,Ã , H.D. Wolfenden a , F. Yusuf b a Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Level 3, Campus Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Barker Street, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia b Department of Business, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia Received 16 March 2006; received in revised form 8 February 2007; accepted 2 April 2007 Available online 27 July 2007 KEYWORDS Australia; Coronary artery bypass graft; Coronary artery disease Summary Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the trends in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) rates in New South Wales (NSW), Australia over a 12-year period beginning in mid-1990. These rates were examined in relation to the patients’ age, gender, complications and length of stay in the hospital. Methods: Data pertaining to the CABG surgeries performed among 72 668 patients were extracted from the hospital inpatient statistics of the NSW Department of Health. The study covered all public and private hospitals in NSW. The indirect standardization technique and logistic regression modelling were used to analyse the data. Results: CABG rates increased with age, peaked in the age range 65–79 years and then declined with age. The median age of the patients showed an increasing trend. While women were less likely to have a CABG, they were substantially older than men at the time of surgery. The predictors of extended post-surgery length of stay were age, insulin-dependent diabetes, acute and chronic renal failure, congestive heart failure, pulmonary disease and having more than three vein grafts. Conclusion: An increasing trend in older patients indicates the improvements in skills of cardiothoracic surgeons and the advancement in technology, which have enabled the doctors to treat those patients who were unable to have the surgery previously. & 2007 The Royal Institute of Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Coronary artery disease affects the arteries supply- ing blood to the heart muscle by reducing the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients. This disease is associated with angina, myocardial infarction, ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevierhealth.com/journals/pubh 0033-3506/$ - see front matter & 2007 The Royal Institute of Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2007.04.010 Ã Corresponding author. Tel.: +612 93820485; fax: +61 2 9382 0493. E-mail address: daminda.weerasinghe@sesiahs.health.nsw. gov.au (D.P. Weerasinghe).