Abrupt closure after coronary angioplasty is often successfully treated by repeat dilation. Long-term follow-up, including 6-month repeat catheterization and 12-month clinical evaluation, was obtained in 1,056 patients treated with acute (n = 335) or elective (n = 721) coronary angioplasty to evaluate the long-term impact of successful reopening of abrupt closure. Abrupt closure occurred in 13.5% of patients and was successfully reopened in 58%. Adverse outcomes including restenosis, death, bypass surgery, myocardial infarction and repeat angioplasty were compared between patients with successfully treated abrupt closure and those with successful procedures (residual diameter stenosis < or = 50%) without abrupt closure. For patients with acute angioplasty, the restenosis rates (> 50% diameter stenosis at follow-up) were 64% for those with successfully treated abrupt closure versus 36% for those with successful procedures without abrupt closure (p < 0.01). In addition, subsequent myocardial infarction (12 vs 3%; p = 0.01) and repeat angioplasty (21 vs 10%; p = 0.03) were more frequent in the group with abrupt closure. For patients with elective angioplasty, restenosis was 43% in those with successfully treated abrupt closure versus 45% in those without abrupt closure (p = NS). Subsequent death and myocardial infarction were more frequent in patients with abrupt closure (death: 12 vs 3% [p < 0.01]; myocardial infarction: 13 vs 3% [p < 0.01]). Long-term adverse events are increased in patients with successfully treated abrupt closure compared to those with successful procedures without abrupt closure.