[Indications for coronary arteriography]. / Pokazaniia k koronarnoi arteriografii.

Visualization of the lumen of the coronary arteries by angiography has greatly expanded the ability of the physician to evaluate the extent of disease in patients suspected of having an ischaemic cardiac disorder. Criteria for coronary angiography have been developed in part by reviewing the experience in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study, CASS. During a five year period at 15 participating sites 24959 consecutive patients undergoing angiography for suspicion of coronary artery disease were enrolled. Chest pain was the dominant symptom in more than 80%. Unstable angina occurred in more than 1/3 of patients classified as definite or probably angina pectoris. The majority of patients were in Canadian Class 2,3. In a study previous reported by CASS a mortality of 002 and a morbidity (myocardial infarction) of 003 was found; presence of left main disease increased mortality 6.8 times. In males, 79% had significant and 12% no CAD; left main disease occurred in 9%. In females 45% had significant and 40% no CAD; left main disease occurred in 4%. The distribution of 1,2 and 3 vessel disease will be presented. From these data and a survey of clinical experience during the past several years, 10 indications for visualization of the coronary artery anatomy by angiography have been developed. These indications are presented for discussion.

[Comparison of the cumulative survival among patient groups with a left main coronary artery lesion after surgical and therapeutic treatment]. / Sravnenie sovokupnoi vyzhivaemosti sredi grupp patsientov s porazheniem glavnogo stvola levoi koronarnoi arterii posle operativnogo i terapevticheskogo lecheniia.

In order to evaluate survival patterns in patients with left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease, 1492 patients with LMCA disease admitted to the U. S. Collaborative Study on Coronary Artery Surgery (CASS) were followed up. Of the 1492 patients, 1183 (79%) underwent coronary artery bypass (CABG) with an operative mortality of 4.2% and an average of 2.7 grafts/patient inserted. Allocation to surgery was by patient and physician preference and not random. Surgical patients generally had more severe angina, a higher prevalence of beta blocker usage, worse ventricular function and more severe LMCA stenosis than medically treated patients. Overall (4 years) survival of the surgical group was 88% compared to 63% in the medical group (p less than 0.001). Other independent predictors of mortality included angiographic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction score, age, % LMCA stenosis, hypertension, dominance, and presence of significant right coronary artery (RCA) stenosis greater than or equal to 50%. CABG was not shown to significantly improve survival in women, in LMCA patients with left dominant circulation, in LMCA patients with non-diseases dominant or balanced RCA circulation or in LMCA patients with greater than or equal to 50% RCA stenosis but good LV function. These data indicate that CABG prolongs life in most patients with left main coronary artery disease, particularly those with severe LMCA narrowing or severe LV dysfunction, however, subgroups of LMCA patients are identifiable who may fare with medical treatment alone.