Five-year angiographic patency of radial artery bypass grafts

Little information exists regarding mid-term and long-term patency of radial artery grafts.

We performed restudy coronary angiography at 5.2+/-0.4 years after surgery on 50 asymptomatic patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery, using at least 1 radial artery graft, to determine both graft patency and presence of narrowing. We examined preoperative clinical or angiographic variables that might predict graft occlusion. Radial artery graft patency was 89%, with 91% of grafts free of narrowing. Preoperative New York Heart Association anginal class < or =2, target vessel proximal stenosis < or =70%, and small target vessel supply territory were predictive of graft occlusion.

At 5 years after surgery, radial artery grafts have disease-free patency rates that are similar to other graft types.