Results of reconstructive interventions in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy

Background Effective treatment of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy is one of the most difficult issues in contemporary cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of reconstructive interventions on the left ventricle during chronic heart failure in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Methods Between March 2013 and December 2017, 178 patients underwent surgical treatment for ischemic cardiomyopathy. Isolated coronary artery bypass grafting was compared with coronary artery bypass grafting with left ventricular reconstruction, using propensity score matching analysis. The primary endpoints of the study were hospital mortality and long-term survival. Results After propensity score matching, 29 pairs of patients were compared. The 30-day hospital mortality was comparable (6.8% versus 6.8%, p = 0.952), the average follow-up was 37.4 ± 12.6 months, with no statistically significant difference in mortality from all causes (p = 0.352). After coronary artery bypass in combination with left ventricular reconstruction, patients showed a statistically significant decrease in clinical and functional indicators of chronic heart failure compared to those who had coronary artery bypass grafting alone, in terms of peak oxygen consumption (15.3 versus 13.5 mL·kg−1·min−1, p = 0.043) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide concentrations (298.6 versus 461.1 pg·mL−1, p = 0.032). Conclusions Compared to isolated coronary artery bypass, coronary artery bypass in combination with left ventricular reconstruction for the treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy leads to a significant decrease in the clinical and functional parameters of chronic heart failure in the long-term postoperative period.