Angiographic findings after myocardial infarction in patients with previous bypass surgery: explanations for smaller infarcts in this group compared with control patients.

The incidence of previous coronary artery bypass surgery (CABS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction admitted to our hospital has risen from 2.3% to 11.2% in 6 years. We compared infarct size and the angiographically determined cause of infarction in 52 control patients and in 52 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction at least 2 months after they had undergone CABS. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups except for a higher incidence of preexisting Q waves in the post-CABS group (22 vs 10; p less than .05). Indexes of myocardial infarct size were smaller in the post-CABS group compared with those in control patients: peak creatine kinease (CK) level (IU/liter) 1113 +/- 1094 (mean +/- SD) vs 1824 +/- 1932 (p less than .01), peak CK-MB level (IU/liter) 173 +/- 230 vs 272 +/- 332 (p less than .02), peak summed ST segment elevation (mm) 3.5 +/- 4.8 vs 8.2 +/- 9.9 (p less than .005), and QRS score on days 7 to 10, 1.9 +/- 3.0 vs 4.3 +/- 3.4 (p less than .001). Postinfarction left ventricular ejection fraction was higher in the post-CABS group (53 +/- 13%) compared with that in control patients (47 +/- 12%; p less than .05). The incidence of total occlusion of the artery to the infarct zone was similar in the post-CABS and control patients (33 vs 27), as was the incidence of one-, two-, and three-vessel disease (artery plus graft). Collateral blood flow to the infarct zone was found in 27 post-CABS patients and in 23 control patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)