Cardiomyopathic syndrome due to coronary artery disease. I: Relation to angiographic extent of coronary disease and to remote myocardial infarction.

Abstract

Clinical, ventriculographic and coronary arteriographic features are compared in 84 patients with coronary artery disease. The extent of coronary disease is measured by the angiographic jeopardy score, which expresses which of 6 coronary arterial segments are jeopardized by significant (> 70% estimated luminal area reduction) proximal stenoses. Cardiomyopathy due to coronary artery disease is apparently specifically related to the extent of proximal coronary artery disease and to the occurrence of multiple myocardial infarcts. Reasons for distinguishing this cardiomyopathic syndrome from several other causes of chronic heart failure in coronary artery disease are discussed. The angiographic scoring system used, which more precisely relates the extent of coronary disease to the extent of left ventricle involved, was a stronger predictor of the presence or absence of the cardiomyopathic syndrome than the 1,2,3-vessel disease notation.