Heart surgeons in Latin America have tracked over 21,000 bypass patients for two decades, proving that using multiple arteries beats the old single-graft way for lasting survival. 
The study published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery extracted the data from Uruguay's National Resources Fund database all isolated coronary artery bypass grafting cases from 2002 to 2022. Only 12.6% got multiarterial grafting (MAG) due to worries about extra time and risks. 
Researchers matched pairs of MAG and single-artery patients using 23 background factors like age and health to make fair comparisons. They checked death rates over time and short-term issues like death, stroke, infections, and breathing trouble. This real-world data from everyday hospitals guides better choices.
Early Wins and Long-Term Edge
Before matching, MAG patients had fewer combined problems at 5.9% versus 7.7%. After matching 5,522 pairs, short-term issues evened out. But survival shone brighter for MAG, with a hazard ratio of 0.88 and confidence interval from 0.79 to 0.97. This means 12% lower death risk over years.
Who Gains Most from Extra Arteries
Younger patients under 70years of age saw the biggest boost at hazard ratio 0.83 from 0.74 to 0.93. Nonsmokers did even better at 0.78 from 0.69 to 0.89. MAG also cut stroke odds to 0.56 from 0.32 to 0.98 and eased long ventilator needs.
Call for Change in Bypass Practice
Doctors should push MAG for fit younger patients and nonsmokers to stretch lives longer. Training and guidelines can break barriers.