Relief of angina pectoris in patients with occluded coronary bypass grafts

Thirty-two patients from a larger series of subjects undergoing routine postoperative evaluation of the aortocoronary saphenous bypass graft procedure were found to have one (20 patients) or all (12 patients) of the implanted grafts totally occluded. Such occlusion occurred in association with persistent postoperative subjective improvement manifested by a significant diminution or complete disappearance of angina pectoris. Postoperative myocardial infarction was documented in only seven cases, and the possibility of successful partial revascularization could be logically applied to only 20 of these 32 patients. Other suggested mechanisms for relief of angina pectoris in this setting are mentioned, although none is scientifically proved. It is concluded that (1) the marked subjective improvement documented in this population does not universally correlate with anatomic success and that (2) a diminution in the degree of angina pectoris cannot be clinically applied as a reliable indicator of postoperative graft patency.