Progression of coronary artery disease in patients receiving percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty: angiographic comparison of angioplasty and non-angioplasty sites.

Long-term follow-up of coronary artery stenosis was carried out in 81 patients undergoing successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Progression of coronary stenosis was observed in 38 patients with 52 sites, and regression was seen in 23 patients with 23 sites during 2 years or more of follow-up. Progressive change occurred in three sites of 97 PTCA lesions and 49 of 1,090 non-PTCA lesions (no significant difference). On the other hand, regressive change was observed in 19 sites of PTCA lesions and four of non-PTCA lesions (p < 0.05). The percentage of narrowing in PTCA lesions was 28.0 +/- 14.4% at 3-6 months after PTCA, and this improved to 22.8 +/- 15.8% at late study angiography. Coronary score changes were -0.16 +/- 0.54 in PTCA lesions, and 0.08 +/- 0.46 in non-PTCA lesions (p < 0.01). We concluded that the progression of obstructive coronary artery disease in sites with previous PTCA is less than in those with non-PTCA.