Clinical trials and graft patency data in coronary artery surgery--a 30-year perspective.

The treatment of coronary artery disease, initially by medical and surgical and subsequently using percutaneous interventions, has evolved rapidly over the last 50 years. Randomized controlled clinical trials and observational studies of large cohorts have been instrumental in the evolution of the current practice of coronary artery revascularisation. This paper traces some of the historic trials of medical versus surgical therapy, surgical versus percutaneous intervention and graft patency studies. Medical therapy and percutaneous intervention are now the primary therapeutic modalities. However, there was an early recurrence rate with percutaneous intervention which has decreased with the use of drug-eluting stents. Coronary artery bypass surgery remains a major option for treating advanced coronary artery disease. Furthermore, it remains the treatment of first choice in most patients with left main coronary artery disease and those with extensive three-vessel proximal coronary artery disease, especially when associated with poor left ventricular function. The choice of a coronary artery bypass conduit is of major importance in developing a single long-term strategy for the surgical treatment of coronary artery disease. Bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting is now accepted as the treatment of choice, although not universally practiced. The role of other arterial conduits is being defined.