Coronary venous retroperfusion for myocardial revascularization.

Although the use of retrograde arteriovenous bypass perfusion may seem appealing in those patients with diffuse occlusive coronary artery disease in whom arterial bypasses are not possible, the likelihood of success seems small. Experimental evidence indicates that such retroperfusion in opposition to antegrade perfusion causes the myocardium to become hemorrhagic. Further experimental evidence indicates that this damaging effect on the myocardium may be prevented by a second bypass which vents the arterial side to a low-pressure system.