Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0151744 (myocardial ischemia)
 31,282 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The relief of coronary obstruction by surgical grafting was the first effective treatment to be directed at the cause of ischemic heart disease. PTCA represents the second major step in relieving coronary stenosis. It seems timely to review where this second step has led in order to understand how percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) relates to surgery and to understand future implications of this procedure. This review will reflect many of the authors biases and prejudices derived from their experience at Mayo Clinic. It will also be a somewhat practical assessment. Such a pragmatic approach can be defended because PTCA itself is built on pragmatism. It is more of the world of craftsmen than of the world of scientists. We are still waiting for science to "catch up" to help solve important remaining problems such as the issue of acute rethrombosis and restenosis. Our ability to review the Mayo Clinic experience is made possible only by having a dedicated team of colleagues in the catheterization laboratory and a dedicated support group managing our PTCA Registry. Experience with other large registries (the NHLBI CASS Registry and the PTCA Registry) has taught us that this is a valuable method of collecting and reviewing the experience with a new procedure as it develops. This approach is likely to be more widely applied in the future.
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PMID:Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. 298 3

CASS includes a multicenter patient registry and a randomized controlled clinical trial. It is designed to assess the effect of coronary artery bypass surgery on mortality and selected nonfatal end points. From August 1975 to May 1979, 780 patients with stable ischemic heart disease were randomly assigned to receive surgical (n = 390) or nonsurgical (n = 390) treatment and were followed through April 15, 1983. At 5 years, the average annual mortality rate in patients assigned to surgical treatment was 1.1%. The annual mortality rate in those receiving medical therapy was 1.6%. Annual mortality rates in patients with single-, double-, and triple-vessel disease who were in the surgical group were 0.7%, 1.0%, and 1.5%; the corresponding rates in patients in the medical group were 1.4%, 1.2%, and 2.1%. The differences were not statistically significant. Nearly 75% of the patients had entry ejection fractions of at least 0.50. The annual mortality rates in patients in the surgical group in this subgroup with single-, double-, and triple-vessel disease were 0.8%, 0.8%, and 1.2% and corresponding rates in the medical group were 1.1%, 0.6%, and 1.2%. The annual rate of bypass surgery in patients who were initially assigned to receive medical treatment was 4.7%. The excellent survival rates observed both in CASS patients assigned to receive medical and those assigned to receive surgical therapy and the similarity of survival rates in the two groups of patients in this randomized trial lead to the conclusion that patients similar to those enrolled in this trial can safely defer bypass surgery until symptoms worsen to the point that surgical palliation is required.
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PMID:Coronary artery surgery study (CASS): a randomized trial of coronary artery bypass surgery. Survival data. 613 92

To evaluate the comparative effects of medical and surgical therapy on quality of life of patients with stable ischemic heart disease, 780 patients who had been randomly assigned to medical or surgical therapy in the CASS were systematically followed for a mean of 5.5. years. Analysis was performed according to original treatment assignment. Patients in the surgical group had significantly less chest pain, fewer activity limitations, and required less therapy with nitrates and beta-blockers. Treadmill exercise tests performed 6, 18, and 60 months after entry documented significantly longer treadmill time, less exercise-induced angina, and less ST segment depression among surgical group patients. However, employment status and recreational status did not differ significantly between medical and surgical groups. Total number of hospitalizations after randomization was higher in the surgical group owing primarily to rehospitalization during the first year of follow-up for the coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Risk factors, including high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, high cholesterol levels, overweight, and poor exercise habits remained similar between medical and surgical groups. This randomized collaborative study shows that coronary artery bypass graft surgery improves the quality of life as manifested by relief of chest pain, improvement in both subjective and objective measurements of functional status, and a diminished requirement for drug therapy. However, no significant effect on employment or recreational status was observed.
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PMID:Coronary artery surgery study (CASS): a randomized trial of coronary artery bypass surgery. Quality of life in patients randomly assigned to treatment groups. 613 93

Coronary artery bypass surgery relieves the symptoms of myocardial ischemia and prolongs survival of patients with more severe coronary artery disease. Randomized trials of surgical therapy have consistently shown that the benefits of surgical revascularization are proportional to the amount of myocardium affected by, or at risk for, ischemic injury. This risk is inferred from angiographically delineated coronary anatomy, estimates of left ventricular function, and physiologic testing. The population that may see a survival benefit from surgical revascularization has probably been expanded beyond that reported in the VA, CASS, and ECSS trials, due to improved perioperative care, longer graft survival, and the use of internal mammary artery grafts. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty revascularizes myocardium by dilating a stenotic segment of coronary artery. While successful in relieving the symptoms of myocardial ischemia, PTCA is hindered by the occurrence of abrupt vessel closure and the frequent development of restenosis. Furthermore, firm proof of a survival benefit, outside of emergency therapy for acute myocardial infarction, is not yet available. However, because the risk of procedure-related death or serious complication is lower than that seen with bypass surgery, PTCA provides a useful alternative revascularization method for patients with less extensive disease, in whom the risk of surgery may equal or exceed any beneficial effect. New technology and growing experience are widening the scope of percutaneous revascularization by extending the hope of symptomatic relief and survival benefit even to patients with extensive, severe coronary artery disease. Comparisons between surgical therapy and PTCA in select populations with single- and multivessel coronary artery disease have shown that PTCA is not as effective as surgery for long-term symptomatic control, and that it often requires repeat PTCA or cross-over to bypass surgery; however, long-term outcomes (i.e., death and myocardial infarction) are similar. The cost of treatment beginning with PTCA may be lower than that of initial surgery, even when the increased need for repeat revascularization is taken into account. Despite this, surgical bypass remains the mainstay of therapy for patients with severe coronary artery disease and a poor prognosis for survival, and will remain the fallback procedure for patients who repeatedly undergo failed PTCA. At the present time, revascularization should be offered on the basis of symptom severity (in the presence of medical therapy) and in accordance with the prognosis for survival as judged by the extent and severity of disease (Table VI). Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is preferred in patients who require revascularization but can obtain no proven benefit from bypass surgery. Coronary artery bypass surgery, using the internal mammary artery when possible, remains the revascularization method of choice for patients with more severe disease or whose disease is not amenable to treatment using percutaneous methods (Table VII).
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PMID:Revascularization therapy for coronary artery disease. Coronary artery bypass grafting versus percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. 764 98