Clinical course of patients with normal, and slightly or moderately abnormal coronary arteriograms. A follow-up study on 500 patients

In a series of 500 patients who had normal coronary arteriograms or narrowings < 50% of the lumen diameter the subsequent clinical course was studied. The minimum follow-up period was 5 years. In 342 patients with entirely normal coronary arteriograms there were only two (0.6%) presumed cardiac deaths and three (0.9%) acute myocardial infarctions within 5 years; both incidences are about half the expected rates in the average unselected population of the United States matched by sex and age. In 101 patients with mild abnomalities (