The Coronary Collateral—A Poem

“The Coronary Collateral” by Torsten Doenst

Invasive treatment of CAD

is very important—we all agree.

But how does it work? Do we really perceive

the underlying mechanisms of the disease?

Ischemia is causing a lot of pain,

but treating it is often in vain.

If chronic, the angina goes away

when PCI is paving the way.

But life won't get longer. Whatever they've done,

revascularization is losing its fun.

Yet, revascularization is not only stent—

and here comes CABG to pay the rent.

The bypass provides collaterals and flow—

life gets longer, which goes to show

that treating ischemia does not prolong lives,

but preventing infarctions makes happy wives.

This poem addresses the mechanisms of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD).[1] [2]

Publication History

Article published online:
06 March 2025

• References

• 1 Doenst T, Haverich A, Serruys P. et al. PCI and CABG for treating stable coronary artery DISEASE: JACC Review Topic of the Week. J Am Coll Cardiol 2019; 73 (08) 964-976
• 2 Doenst T, Bonow RO, Bhatt DL, Falk V, Gaudino M. Improving terminology to describe coronary artery procedures: JACC Review Topic of the Week. J Am Coll Cardiol 2021; 78 (02) 180-188
• 3 JAMA Network. Poetry. accessed January 30, 2025 at: https://jamanetwork.com/collections/44061/poetry
• 4 JAMA Network. Instructions for Authors. accessed January 30, 2025 at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/pages/instructions-for-authors#SecPoetry
• 5 Benn G. Morgue und andere Gedichte. Lyrisches Flugblatt; Berlin: 1912