The hearts of patients who are given vitamin E before undergoing heart surgery are less susceptible to certain postoperative complications than are the hearts of patients who are not given vitamin E before heart surgery. From six hours after surgery onward, however, the survivors from both groups show the same level of heart function, on average, and also recover equally well. Despite this lack of long-term effect, doctors often recommend vitamin E for patients about to undergo heart surgery.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the doctors’ recommendation?
(A) Postoperative complications pose the greatest threat to patients during the first six hours after heart surgery.
(B) Postoperative complications occur six or more hours after surgery for some patients who have not been given vitamin E.
(C) It sometimes takes less than six hours for a patient’s heart function to return to normal after heart surgery.
(D) Certain categories of patients are inherently less likely to develop postoperative complications than other patients are.
(E) Many patients who are told that they are being given vitamin E actually receive a medically inert substance.
The mystery we need to solve: patients who are given vitamin E before heart surgery are less susceptible to postoperative complications, although as soon as six hours after surgery, they do no better than patients who were not given vitamin E before heart surgery. So why bother?Answer choice (A) tells us that those first six hours after surgery are critical, and thus justifies giving patients vitamin E before heart surgery.