Left ventricular dysfunction in excess of the size of infarction: a possible management strategy.

In this report we describe two patients whose left ventricular dysfunction was far in excess of infarct size as evidenced by ECG changes and the magnitude of creatine kinase release. Both patients demonstrated redistribution in myocardial beds remote from the infarct zone on delayed rest thallium 201 images and both had multivessel disease evident on coronary angiography. Both patients experienced relief of symptoms and improvement in regional and global left ventricular function after revascularization surgery. The possible mechanisms of left ventricular dysfunction in myocardial beds remote from the zone of infarction are discussed.