NIH Awards UAlbany Researcher Edward L. Hannan $925,000 to Study Long-term Survival Following Coronary Revascularizations

Hannan's study will examine the comparative effectiveness of two of the most common and expensive coronary surgical procedures, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and stenting.

University at Albany School of Public Health researcher Edward L. Hannan was awarded a $925,499 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) challenge grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to study long-term survival of cardiac patients undergoing coronary revascularization procedures, including coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and stenting with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

“This study will examine the comparative effectiveness of two of the most common and expensive surgical procedures, both of which are used for patients with coronary heart disease,” said Hannan, Distinguished Professor in the School’s Department of Public Health Policy, Management and Behavior. “The study will identify which types of patients will fare best with each procedure, and we expect that this information will provide valuable information to physicians and patients when choosing a treatment for coronary heart disease."

Using a unique database maintained by the New York State Department of Health, Dr. Hannan’s research will expand on research to address risk factors for, and patterns of, long-term survival following these procedures. NHLBI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Each year more than 1.3 million PCI procedures and 500,000 CABG surgeries are performed in the United States. Data regarding longer-term survival from these procedures is limited, with earlier research indicating variations in patient survival between CABG surgery and PCIs in the first three years following the procedure. Earlier research on this topic did not include new treatment options, such as the use of drug-eluting stents for PCI procedures. Also, previous studies lacked detailed information on relative outcomes of PCI and CABG surgery for specific patient characteristics such as age, gender and race.

“Dr. Hannan’s continued study of long-term survival from revascularization procedures provides valuable public health data used to set standards of care by health care providers and policy makers and for determining appropriate courses of treatment by patients and their physicians,” said Dean Philip Nasca of the School of Public Health.

The expanded study will allow better comparison of longer-term survival following revascularization procedures, specifically five years and longer, and will focus on providing real-world data to patients and physicians for better-informed decision making when considering treatment for coronary heart disease. Risk scores that predict long-term mortality following CABG and PCI will also be developed.


Contact(s): Catherine Herman (518) 956-8150