Although a functional role of coronary collaterals has been continuously debated, we observed the following facts in our studies during intracoronary thrombolytic therapy: (a) Myocardial ischemia is important for the development of collateral circulation, (b) collaterals can perfuse the infarcted myocardium, and (c) the presence of collaterals prevents the left ventricular aneurysm formation in acute myocardial infarction, even when the amount of the salvaged tissue is small. Thus, coronary collaterals are not merely markers of severe ischemia but help to preserve the functional integrity of the myocardium in the presence of coronary obstruction. We then attempted to promote collateralization to treat patients with angina pectoris. Patients with chronic stable effort angina were treated with heparin followed by treadmill exercise twice a day for 10 days. Treadmill capacity was found to improve in association with an increase in coronary collateral circulation. Heparin treatment of ischemic patients was found to be a noninvasive alternative to percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and coronary bypass surgery for patients who are not candidates for invasive procedures.