BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on whether mitral valve repair or replacement (MVRR) must be performed to treat ischemic mitral regurgitation (MVR) after myocardial infarction. Our objective in this study was to investigate the efficacy of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) combined with or without MVRR for the ischemic MVR.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: An article search was performed in OvidSP, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase. In these articles, researchers compared the efficacy of CABG with or without MVRR in treating patients with ischemic MVR after acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We performed a meta-analysis to compare the differences in the short-term and long-term survival rates of patients treated with CABG only and those treated with both CABG and MVRR. Secondary outcomes were compared with the preoperative and postoperative degree of MVR, left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class.

RESULTS: Out of the 1183 studies, we selected only 5 articles. A total of 3120 patients were enrolled; the CABG and MVRR group included 575 patients, while the CABG only group included 2545 patients. Long-term survival was higher in the CABG only group (hazard ratio [HR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–1.58, P=0.003). Hospital mortality was similar in both the groups (odds ratio [OR], 2.54; 95% CI, 0.65–9.95; P=0.18). No differences were found in the degree of residual MVR, the mean of LVESV, LVEF, or NYHA class.

CONCLUSIONS: In patients with ischemic MVR, the short-term survival rate was similar in both groups. Moreover, there was no significant improvement in the long-term survival rates of patients treated with both CAG and MVRR.

Keywords: Coronary Artery Bypass, Mitral Valve Insufficiency - surgery, Myocardial Ischemia - surgery