Results of Surgical Coronary Revascularization Alone Versus Combined Surgical Revascularization and Mitral Valve Repair in Patients With Moderate Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation

Background: This is a prospective randomized-controlled study done to evaluate the best surgical option for moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation through either coronary artery bypass grafting only or by performing additional mitral repair. Methods: Over a nine-month period, 60 patients with ischemic heart disease associated with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation were equally divided into two groups. Group 1 included 30 patients who had coronary artery bypass grafting with mitral valve repair; Group 2 included 30 patients who had only coronary artery bypass grafting. Results: There were no significant differences between the study groups, regarding operative data, apart from the cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamp time, which were significantly longer in group 1 (P < 0.001). Only one patient died in group 1 due to severe myocardial dysfunction. During the follow up, the NYHA class improved in group 1, from 2.7 to 1.35 (P < 0.004), compared with group 2, where the NYHA class improved from 2.6 to 1.72 (P = 0.07). The degree of MR improved in 28 patients (93%) in group 1 and 22 patients (73%) in group 2 (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The study revealed many advantages of adding mitral repair to surgical revascularization in patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation, with improvement in the degree of MR and NYHA functional class. On the other hand there were no significant differences between the groups, regarding the postoperative course and incidence of mortality.