Revascularization in Severe Left Ventricular Dysfunction: Does Myocardial Viability Even Matter?

Left ventricular dysfunction is a powerful prognostic predictor in patients with coronary artery disease and increasing number of patients with CAD and ischemic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is a major clinical problem. Congestive heart failure is a frequent complication which is associated with significant health care costs and two-third of cases have ischemic cardiomyopathy. In such patients, coronary revascularization can lead to symptomatic and prognostic improvement and reversal of LV remodeling which led to the concept of viable myocardium to select patients in whom recovery of LV function and improvement of prognosis will outweigh the risk of surgical revascularization. The aim of this review article is to understand the different modalities for assessing myocardial viability and clinical impact of revascularization in relation to the evidence of viability in patients with LV dysfunction.