Hibernating Myocardium

For many years, the functional sequelae of chronic coronary artery disease were considered irreversible and amenable only to palliative therapy. For example, a finding of asynergy (the absence of contraction) on the left ventriculogram was thought to indicate the presence of infarcted myocardium or scarring. It is now clear, however, that chronic left ventricular dysfunction (i.e., reduced contraction or even asynergy) in patients with coronary artery disease is not necessarily irreversible.This new concept is based on two earlier observations. The first was that myocardial dysfunction that was present before the performance of coronary-artery bypass grafting was often reversed after . . .