Wall motion score index predicts mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with viable non-functioning myocardium

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has better survival than medical treatment in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Assessment of myocardial viability is crucial to predict survival benefit after CABG. Our recent work determined higher prognostic value of echocardiographic wall motion score index (WMSI) than left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients underwent CABG with viable myocardium and LVEF <50%. Thus, it is important to determine the extent of nonviable as well as viable myocardium in patients with low LVEF. Also, in the absence of high modality imaging studies like cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and to avoid the radiation hazards of radionuclide studies, assessment of WMSI in addition to LVEF can give accurate data of the magnitude of myocardial damage and can predict survival after CABG in patients with systolic LV dysfunction.