UK website publishes cardiac surgery survival rates

Patients in England and Wales needing cardiac surgery can now use a website to compare survival rates in different surgical units to inform their choice of where to have their operation.

Launched last week, the website gives details of survival rates for all cardiac surgery combined and individually for coronary artery bypass graft and aortic valve replacement surgery (the two most common types of heart operation) for units in England and Wales between April 2004 and March 2005. Units in Scotland will be included in the next few months.

The data show whether the rate of survival is within the expected range. The overall survival rate from April 2004 to March 2005 was 96.6%—well above the expected range of 93.7% to 94.5%. The figures were adjusted for the type of patients treated and how old or sick they were before surgery.

The website was …