American heart journal
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American heart journal · Aug 1982
Comparative StudyRelation of healed transmural myocardial infarct size to length of survival after acute myocardial infarction, age at death, and amount and extent of coronary arterial narrowing by atherosclerotic plaques: analysis of 70 necropsy patients.
The percent of left ventricular wall (including ventricular septum) replaced by scar was determined in 70 necropsy patients with a healed transmural myocardial infarct (MI). The MI involved from 1% to 55% (mean 13%) of the left ventricular wall. The ages at death of the patients ranged from 25 to 82 years (mean 62) and did not significantly correlate with MI size (r = -0.12). ⋯ When the 28 patients with an MI involving greater than 10% of the left ventricular wall were compared to those with an MI involving less than or equal to 10%, a similar overall percentage of 5 mm segments of coronary artery was severely narrowed (43% vs 42%). In addition, a similar percentage of segments was narrowed severely in each of the three major epicardial coronary arteries. Thus in our necropsy patients with a healed transmural MI, the MI size correlated with length of survival after an acute MI (in patients with definite histories of an acute MI) but not with age at death or with the amount, location, or extent of coronary arterial narrowing by atherosclerotic plaques.