ABSTRACT
Survival rates were evaluated in 3 groups of patients: those with an isolated lesion of the anterior interventricular branch of the left coronary artery (group 1), multiple coronary arterial lesions (group 2) and a more than 50% narrowing of the left coronary-arterial trunk (group 3) following autovenous aortocoronary shunting of 1 to 5 coronary arteries. Drug-treated patients with similar coronary arterial lesions and clinical manifestations were taken as controls. Long-term survival rates of surgical patients were significantly higher, as compared to those of medication-treated patients in groups 2 and 3. There was no significant difference in survival rates of first-group patients. Long-term survival was dependent on the scope of revascularization and pretreatment myocardial contractility.
