Improvement of regional wall motion in medically treated myocardial infarction with single-vessel coronary artery disease.

Long-term changes in regional wall motion (RWM) following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 42 patients with uncomplicated single-vessel disease were examined retrospectively by repeat cardiac catheterizations. The first and second cardiac catheterizations were performed at an average of 28 days and 6.6 years after the onset of AMI, respectively. All 42 patients underwent first and second cardiac catheterizations without undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery or coronary angioplasty. Regional left ventricular functions were analyzed by the centerline method using a right anterior oblique left ventriculogram. The wall motion abnormality score (WMAS) was defined as [# chord below -2SD] x [mean SD chord below -2SD]. The improvement in the WMAS was more prominent in cases with an occluded infarct-related artery. Thus, we concluded that 1) RWM improves significantly with medical treatment in long-term follow-up in cases of uncomplicated AMI with single-vessel disease, and 2) the improvement of RWM is completed within the first few weeks after AMI in cases with a patent infarct-related artery.