Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting for patients with cardiogenic shock due to acute myocardial infarction

Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) is less invasive, so we have recently been expanding the indication. We performed OPCAB for 3 patients with cardiogenic shock due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI). PATIENTS: All patients were supported hemodynamically by intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) prior to surgery. RESULTS: We performed the revascularization of territories for the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and right coronary artery (RCA) in these high risk patients using OPCAB technique to improve the hemodynamic state. In all patients, IABP was removed within 48 hours after surgery and the postoperative course was uneventful. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that OPCAB is a useful and effective procedure for a selected patient even with cardiogenic shock due to AMI.