Coronary steal syndrome with coil embolization of a large LIMA side branch: radionuclide evidence for reversible ischemia.

This case presents the controversy over coronary artery steal syndrome following bypass surgery when a large branch of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) is not ligated. A discussion of previous attempts to understand the physiology of this anatomy is compared with case reports of objective evidence for ischemia that resolves following occlusion of the LIMA side branch.