Observational, Case-Control, Propensity-Matched Study of Bilateral Versus Monolateral Internal Mammary Artery Grafting for Severe Coronary Artery Disease. Assessment of Feasibility of Systematic Bilateral Mammary Artery Grafting and Early/Late Clinical Outcomes

The present study hypothesizes that the systematic use of bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA) grafting is feasible in the practice of a University Cardiac Surgery Institution for the treatment of multivessel coronary artery disease (primary hypothesis). The secondary study hypothesis is that the BIMA grafting meets the safety endpoint compared with the conventional surgical strategy entailing left mammary artery grafting plus great saphenous vein grafts to revascularize the remaining coronary targets. The tertiary study hypothesis is that the BIMA grafting yields better follow-up results in terms of recurrence of symptoms related to coronary disease, of repeat revascularization and of cardiac mortality compared with patients treated with the conventional surgical strategy entailing left mammary artery grafting plus great saphenous vein grafts to revascularize the remaining coronary targets.