A Three-year Follow Up Case with Severe Ischemic Heart Disease after Retrograde Catheter-based Autologous Bone Marrow Cells Implantation via the Coronary Vein

Abstract

A 60 year-old male who had undergone four-vessel coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) due to severe ischemic cardiomyopathy and prior myocardial infarction was admitted to our hospital for implantation of autologous bone marrow cells via a retrograde coronary venous catheter. Myocardial blood flow and ejection fraction were evaluated by stress myocardial scintigraphy four weeks, six months and 36 months after implantation. It was revealed that myocardial perfusion was significantly improved throughout the follow-up period associated with relief of angina pain, but that enhancement of ejection fraction was temporarily observed only at the 6-month follow-up.