FRIDAY, May 23, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Cognitive problems experienced by many people after they have coronary artery bypass surgery are mostly temporary, says a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.
More than two thirds of people who have coronary artery bypass surgery suffer a decline in their ability to think, remember and learn. They may also be slower at such tasks as writing and drawing immediately after the surgery.
The Johns Hopkins researchers found these mental effects are mostly reversible and generally last for no more than three months. The study appears in the May issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
The study compared 140 people who had coronary artery bypass surgery with 92 people with coronary artery disease who didn't have the surgery. The researchers found no differences in cognitive function between the groups when the surgery patients were tested three months and a year after their surgery.
The tests included measures of attention, learning and memory, spatial abilities and speed of processing.
The researchers plan to follow the study volunteers for three to five years to determine whether the people who had coronary artery bypass surgery suffer any long-term cognitive effects compared to those who didn't have the surgery.
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