[Dysfunction of aortocoronary bypass. Prognosis].

From 1978 to 1988, 108 patients with at least one occluded or stenosed aorto-coronary bypass graft (over 75% stenosis) underwent coronary angiography on average 31 months after the initial coronary bypass surgery. The occluded or stenosed coronary graft was either a saphenous vein (n = 126 including 9 sequentials) or internal mammary artery (n = 5). The bypassed artery was the left anterior descending (n = 66), right coronary (n = 40), left marginal (n = 25) or diagonal (n = 9). The number of occluded or stenosed grafts by patient was 1.2. The left ventricular ejection fraction was 55% (range 25 to 77%). During a mean follow-up period of 60 months after coronary angiography, there were 14 cardiac deaths and 15 non-lethal myocardial infarctions. Treatment comprised 12 angioplasties, 26 new bypass grafts and 3 cardiac transplantations. The 8 year actuarial survival was 84%. The survival without infarction at 8 years was 69%. Survival was significantly decreased to 72% when the occluded or stenosed graft was located on the left anterior descending artery. The survival without infarction at 8 years was 52% in the patients with dysfunction of left anterior descending artery grafts and 89% when the diseased graft was located on another artery (right coronary, left marginal, diagonal). Therefore, the data of this retrospective study show that coronary graft dysfunction on the right coronary, left marginal or diagonal arteries do not greatly influence life expectancy in the medium term after coronary bypass surgery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)