In order to evaluate whether or not criteria for surgical revascularization in patients with early post-infarction angina (EPIA) should be different from those commonly used for patients with angina, the incidence and prognostic implications of EPIA were analysed in 188 AMI patients in Killip's class I or II on admission. Sixty-two patients (33%) complained of EPIA (Group I) and 126 patients were symptom-free (Group II). There were no differences between the two groups in in-hospital and late mortality and reinfarction. On the contrary, severity of angina was significantly associated with the occurrence of in-hospital and late cardiac death, reinfarction and revascularization procedures. EPIA patients underwent revascularization procedures significantly more frequently than group II patients, both during hospitalization (29% versus 1%; P less than 0.001) and follow up (10% versus 1%; P less than 0.01). Coronary artery involvement was significantly more severe in group I than in group II and in the operated patients compared with the non-operated ones. Our data suggest that the severity of angina should be the leading criterion for surgery, as it is able to identify most of the patients with severe coronary artery disease and poor prognosis.