Ambrosy AP, et al. - Researchers studied how the burden of medical co-morbidities and impacted any benefit from surgical revascularization, using Cox proportional hazards models, in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy enrolled in the STICH trial. Participants included patients (≥ 18 years of age) with coronary artery disease amenable to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and an ejection fraction (EF) ≤ 35%. A total of 602 eligible subjects were randomly (1:1) treated with medical therapy (MED) and 610 with MED/CABG. They calculated a modified Charlson co-morbidity index (CCI) and the results were used to categorize patients into mild/moderate (CCI 1–4) and severe (CCI ≥ 5) co-morbidity. A mild/moderate CCI score was present in 349 patients (29%) and a severe CCI score was evident in 863 patients (71%). A severe burden of medical co-morbidities at baseline, seen in most of patients, had an independent relation to increased risk of mortality. Findings revealed no differential benefit of surgical revascularization regarding survival depending on the severity of co-morbidity.