[Coronary angiography in the preoperative exploration of non-ischemic acquired valve diseases].

One hundred and fifty-nine patients with aortic valve disease (86 cases), mitral valve disease (58 cases) or mitral and aortic disease (15 cases) underwent a pre-operative haemodynamic study, including coronary arteriography either as a routine (age greater than 50 years) or because of chest pains. Coronary arteriography is easy to do during left heart catheterisation and nowadays carries minimal risk. In the cases of chest pains, it showed stenotic lesions of the coronary vessels in 22% of patients with aortic valve disease and in 35% of those with mitral disease. In the absence of angina, coronary arteriography showed no evidence of coronary artery disease in the cases of mitral regurgitation and of aortic valve disease. In contrast, it showed stenotic lesions in three cases of mitral stenosis. In the whole of the series, coronary artery disease proved a contra-indication to surgery in three cases, and was an indication for aorta-coronary by-pass grafting, in addition to valve surgery, in seven other cases. In the absence of angina, coronary arteriography has only a slight influence on the decision to operate. It does however give additional security, which justifies its routine use in patients over 50 years of age, particularly those with mitral valve disease.