Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Patency of Internal Mammarian Artery in Proximal Left Anterior Descending Artery

Currently, management of coronary heart disease is evolving continuously as a result of dynamic progress in interventional cardiology. In this study, we aimed at finding out the factors that are related to the patency of left internal mammary artery (IMA) bypass grafts on left anterior descending artery (LAD) lesions. For this reason, we reviewed the patients with IMA greft who had undergone coronary angiography because of anginal symptoms during 1994 and 1995. The study consisted of 79 patients who were performed coronary angiography because of anginal pain. The patients were dichotomized into two groups as IMA patent (Group 1, n=56) and IMA closed (Group 2, n=23). Both groups were statistically compared according to age, sex, diabet, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, peripheral arterial disase and percentage of preoperative bypassed LAD stenosis. Mean age was 54.2± 7.8 years. Of the patients, 85% were male and 15% were female. The mean postoperative interval was 44 months in group 1 and 32 months in group 2. Between two groups, statistically significant dirference was present with respect to hypercholesterolemia, smoking, peripheral artery disease and bypassed LAD stenosis. The most significant difference was in bypassed LAD stenosis (p