The effect on 7 year survival of having a normal or near normal coronary arteriogram
was examined using data from the CASS registry of 21,487 consecutive coronary arteriograms
taken in 15 clinical sites. Of these, 4,051 arteriograms were normal or near normal,
and the patients had normal left ventricular function as judged by absence of a history
of congestive heart failure, no reported segmental wall motion abnormality and an
ejection fraction of at least 50%; 3,136 arteriograms were entirely normal and the
remaining 915 revealed mild disease with less than 50% stenosis in one or more segments.
The 7 year survival rate was 96% for the patients with a normal arteriogram and 92%
for those whose study revealed mild disease (p less than 0.0001). Nine risk variables
recorded at entry were analyzed for predictive value for survival: age, sex, height,
weight, history of smoking, presence of absence of mild disease, electrocardiographic
response to exercise, family history of coronary heart disease and a history of hypertension.
Of these, age, smoking history, presence or absence of disease and a history of hypertension
had predictive value.