OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relative efficacy of different therapeutic strategies in patients with symptomatic multivessel coronary artery disease with preserved ventricular function. The primary objectives were defined as a combination of death of cardiac origin, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and refractory angina that required revascularization, and the secondary objectives were defined as anginal state and exercise-induced ischemia. METHODS: Of the 20,769 patients assessed on cine coronary angiography at InCor, 210 were chosen for this study and were randomized either for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG, n=105) or transluminal coronary angioplasty (TCA, n=105). RESULTS: A mean of 3.2±0.8 vessels received anastomoses and 2.1±0.8 were successfully dilated in the CABG and TCA groups, respectively. In a 5-year follow-up, the rates of events in the CABG and TCA groups were, respectively: mortality, 9.52% and 12.38%; acute myocardial infarction, 2.85% and 8.57% (P = 0.0668); and additional intervention, 2.85% and 24.76% (P < 0.001). The survival rate was 88.39% for CABG and 84.93% for TCA; the respective AMI-free percentages were 84.40% and 77.40%. In the CABG and TCA groups, 62% and 60% of the patients had no angina, respectively. The exercise tests were considered nonischemic in 62.5% and 62.1% of the patients in the CABG and TCA groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: In multivessel patients, compared with angioplasty, coronary artery bypass grafting was associated with a lower incidence of long-term events and a reduced need for new interventions (P=0.001).
transluminal coronary angioplasty; coronary artery bypass grafting; coronary artery disease
