The influence of grafted coronary arteries on vascular conduits

Abstract

Both arterial and venous conduits can be used for coronary bypass surgery. Arterial conduits have more advantages over venous conduits. The concept of “graft-artery junction” was created to help specialists understand the complex interaction between the chosen conduit and target coronary vessel, and assist clinicians in choosing the appropriate vascular conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting. Supposedly, the system is comprised of two parts. The first part is represented by the chosen conduit and its influence on coronary arteries. The existence of such influence has been proven by previous studies, some of which indicated that internal mammary artery has cardioprotective effects. Artery walls secrete such vasoactive substances as nitric oxide, prostacyclin, endothelial hyperpolarized factor, etc. The second part is represented by coronary arteries, their influence and specific mechanisms of atherosclerosis spreading (involving grafts). The number of studies devoted to this topic remains low, therefore, we have attempted to highlight this issue within this review.