he prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease and severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is poor, unless significant functional recovery is gained with coronary revascularization to viable myocardium. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical significance of myocardial viability in the territory supplied by the left anterior descending artery (LAD) in patients with severe LV dysfunction (ejection fraction (EF) ≤35%) who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), because the prognostic and procedural significance of CABG to the LAD coronary artery was underscored recently. 9-11
Methods
Study PatientsOne hundred consecutive patients, all who demonstrated of having myocardial viability in the LAD territory and who undergone CABG (66 men, 34 women, aged 42-85 years [mean, 66]) were studied retrospectively. Previous myocardial infarction and CABG had occurred in 66 and 3 patients, respectively. Left main coronary artery disease was found in 31 patients, 3-vessel disease in 44, 2-vessel disease in 23, and 1-vessel disease in 2. Written informed consent was obtained from all of the patients.
EchocardiographyEchocardiographms were performed using a Toshiba SSH-65A (Tokyo, Japan) or an Aloka SSD-710 (Tokyo, Japan) with 2.5-3.75 MHz transducers. A complete Mmode and 2-dimensional study were performed and recorded on video tape for subsequent analysis. LV segmental wall motion abnormality and systolic wall thickJpn Circ J 1999; 63: 752 -758 (Received May 6, 1999; revised manuscript received June 24, 1999; accepted July 5, 1999 To evaluate the functional recovery after coronary bypass surgery in patients with severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction (ejection fraction (EF) ≤35%), 100 consecutive patients with viable myocardium in the territory supplied by the left anterior descending artery (LAD) underwent coronary bypass grafting. In addition, cardiac catheterization and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) perfusion imaging with thallium-201 were repeated 1-year postoperatively. Although 12 patients with severe LV dysfunction were preoperatively in a worse New York Heart Association functional class (3.1±0.7 vs 2.4±0.8; p<0.01), had a higher incidence of heart failure (10/12 vs 14/88; p<0.001) and had a worse LVEF (29±5 vs 61±14%; p<0.001) compared with 88 patients without severe LV dysfunction, the operative mortality was similar in the 2 groups (1/12 vs 2/88; p=NS). The postoperative NYHA functional class in the patients with severe LV dysfunction was similar to that in the patients without such dysfunction (1.6±0.7 vs 1.3±0.6; p=NS). In addition, the 1-year postoperative study revealed a significant improvement in the thallium defect score in both the LAD territory (1.7±1.2 to 0.7±1.0, p=0.01) and all the territories (5.2±2.2 to 3.2±1.9, p=0.002) in patients with severe LV dysfunction, whereas no improvement in defect score was found in either of these territories in those without severe LV dysfunction (LAD: 0.6±1.4 to 0.4±1.2, p=NS; All: 1.9±...