Background
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and
coronary heart disease (CHD) accounts for the largest
proportion of heart disease (Healthy People 2010, 2003).
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is one of the
major therapeutic approaches to the treatment of CHD. In the
United States of America, the number of CABG procedures
performed each year has increased 425%, from approximately
150,000 in 1979 to 598,000 in 1996 (Hunt 2000). In Taiwan,