Abstract / Summary
The development of new Q waves is an indicator of myocardial infarction following open coronary artery bypass grafting. It is unclear whether this is true for patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (MVD) treated initially with minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB). Electrocardiogram (ECG) changes were analyzed in a single center series of twenty-one consecutive patients with MVD undergoing MIDCAB. Six patients exhibited new Q waves in the inferior leads (group 1), 4 patients displayed significant QRS axis changes (group 2), and 11 patients presented with neither (group 3). The QRS axis and new Q waves reversed in most patients undergoing hybrid right coronary artery stenting and persisted in all patients receiving MIDCAB alone. In all cases, significant ECG changes were found to be benign and did not indicate myocardial infarction.