Abstract

Eighteen patients with significant stenosis of the left main coronary artery are reported and compared with 1,040 patients described in the ten largest published series. In comparison to previous reports, our patients have a higher incidence of congestive heart failure, previous myocardial infarction (especially inferior wall), poorer left ventricular function, and more advanced coronary artery disease. Despite this, there was no increased risk during catheterization and bypass surgery. This small group of patients reflects the modern experience that, with increasing awareness of this lesion, there need not necessarily be a higher risk during diagnostic studies and therapeutic intervention.