Myocardial infarction during coronary artery bypass surgery--benign event or prognostic omen?

Our observations and experience suggest that an adverse outcome from perioperative infarction occurs predominantly in a defined population of patients. A worsened prognosis and special postoperative interventions need not be anticipated in patients who have simply developed new Q waves after bypass surgery and are free of malignant ventricular arrhythmias and severe degrees of myocardial dysfunction. Furthermore, our data indicates that repeat throacotomy because of bleeding or tamponade early after sustaining a perioperative infarction will adversely affect the outcome of that infarction.