title: Post-infarction ventricular septal defect: the importance of right ventricular coronary perfusion in determining surgical outcome.
abstract: Mortality from a post-infarction ventricular septal defect (VSD) can be reduced by surgery, selection for which would be helped by knowledge of factors affecting the postoperative prognosis. We reviewed our 9-year experience (1978-1987) of 40 surgically treated patients, comparing preoperative characteristics in those who died postoperatively (n = 15, 37%) and those who survived (n = 25, 63%), all still alive. Sex, age, infarct size as assessed by peak serum creatine kinase values, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and pulmonary/systemic flow ratio (2.9 +/- 0.2 vs 3.1 +/- 0.3) were similar. Survivors had a lower incidence of inferior infarct than those who died (6, 24% vs 9, 60%, P less than 0.05), a lower incidence of cardiogenic shock (7, 28% vs 10, 67%, P less than 0.05), less elevation of right ventricular end-diastolic pressure (10.1 +/- 0.9 vs 14.7 +/- 1.0 mm Hg, P less than 0.01) and less impairment of right ventricular coronary supply as determined by a coronary angiography-derived myocardial score (0.9 +/- 0.3 vs 4.7 +/- 0.7, P less than 0.001). The data suggest that right ventricular coronary perfusion influences prognosis. The proposed angiographic score may help to identify preoperatively those patients most likely to benefit from surgery.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Unit, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Angelini
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Penny
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ruttley
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Butchart
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Breckenridge
mesh_terms: D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003326:Coronary Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006341:Heart Rupture / Q000601:surgery*; D006342:Heart Rupture, Post-Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors