Cardiac Procedures, Outcomes, and Accountability

Interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery have transformed the care of patients with ischemic heart disease in the United States. Between 1980 and 1992, rates of coronary angiography increased by 163 percent (from 154.4 to 405.6 per 100,000 population); rates of percutaneous coronary revascularization increased by 5946 percent (from 2.6 to 157.2 per 100,000); and rates of coronary-artery bypass surgery increased by 102 percent (from 60.2 to 121.9 per 100,000).1 In 1992, cardiac specialists in the United States performed 1,028,000 cardiac catheterization procedures (not counting outpatient procedures), 399,000 percutaneous coronary revascularization procedures, and 309,000 bypass operations.The international community has access . . .