Revascularization of the ischemic heart has been a goal of surgeons for more than 30 years.
In 1934, Claude S. Beck, MD, sought to provide a new source of arterial blood for the myocardium by suturing a flap of the pectoral muscle to the left ventricle. In the years that have followed Dr. Beck's pioneering work, surgical intervention in coronary artery disease has evolved along two different approaches: one direct, the other indirect.
The direct method includes repair of the diseased artery by endarterectomy or graft replacement of the occluded portion. The indirect approach seeks either to provide a supplementary source of blood for the heart wall or to redistribute the reduced supply of blood provided by the coronary arterial system.
In this latter category might be included Dr. Beck's procedures to reverse the coronary flow and, in France, Fauteux's attempt to improve ventricular wall circulation by ligation of the