RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate the short- and long-term results of balloon angioplasty for stenoses in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery. BACKGROUND: Both the supposedly high rate of acute complications and relatively poor long-term results of balloon angioplasty for stenoses in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery have led to a search for alternative interventional techniques. METHODS: We analyzed the success rates and long-term follow-up results in 351 consecutive patients who underwent balloon angioplasty for stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery proximal to its first side branch. The power of the study was >80% in detecting a difference of 9% in the proportion of patients who survived at 10 years, assuming an 80% survival rate in the control group. RESULTS: There were 60 ostial and 291 nonostial stenoses. Follow-up lasted a median of 85 months (range 0 to 137) and was 100% complete. The angiographic success rate was 90.9%. The clinical success rate was 86.3%. Nine patients (2.6%) died, 17 (4.8%) needed emergency coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and 10 (2.8%) developed a myocardial infarction. Several patients had subsequent complications. The success and complication rates were not significantly different for patients with ostial and nonostial stenoses. Ten years after balloon angioplasty, freedom from mortality was 80%, freedom from cardiac death was 87%, freedom from myocardial infarction was 84%, freedom from vessel-related reinterventions was 66%, and freedom from angina pectoris was 33%. There were more reinterventions for ostial stenoses, with a 1-year relative risk of ostial versus nonostial stenoses for related reinterventions of 1.7 (95% confidence interval 1 to 2.8, p = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: More than 10 years ago, balloon angioplasty for stenoses in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery, either ostial or nonostial, had a high success rate. Although the long-term results are satisfactory, ostial stenoses are associated with a higher early clinical restenosis rate requiring more reinterventions.