Myocardial perfusion as an indicator of graft patency after coronary artery bypass surgery

Stress and resting myocardial perfusion were assessed in 38 patients who received 96 grafts. Stress perfusion was evaluated with thallium-201 and resting myocardial blood flow distribution with radiolabelled particles. When both stress and rest perfusion were normal, graft patency was 82% (51 of 62 grafts). Graft patency was also high (81%, 13 of 16) in areas where stress perfusion abnormalities resolved or become less apparent at rest. However, when stress perfusion defects remained unchanged at rest, the graft was likely to be occluded (73%, 11 of 15). Maintenance of normal rest perfusion or improvement of rest perfusion postoperatively was also associated with a high graft patency rate (80%, 35 of 44), whereas the development of new rest perfusion defects postoperatively implied graft occlusion (86%, six of seven).