Risk stratification following complex PCI: clinical versus anatomical risk stratification including "post PCI residual SYNTAX-score" as quantification of incomplete revascularization.

BACKGROUND: EuroSCORE and completeness of revascularization predicts long-term survival after multivessel PCI (MV-PCI). The SYNTAX-Score has also been proposed to predict clinical outcome. The prognostic impact of these scores to predict long-term survival after PCI has not yet been compared. METHODS AND RESULTS: Long-term survival was assessed in 740 patients undergoing MV-PCI. We calculated EuroSCORE, SYNTAX-Score, STS-Score, the clinical SYNTAX-Score (CSS), and the "post-PCI residual SYNTAX-Score." Mean follow-up time was 4.5 ± 2.5 years. 341 patients (46%) were treated for ACS (STEMI N = 191; NSTEMI N = 150). 113 patients (15%) underwent PCI of left main coronary artery. The EuroSCORE was significantly lower for stable patients compared to patients with ACS (stable 4.1 ± 4.5, NSTEMI 13.9 ± 13.3, STEMI 18.1 ± 18.7, p < 0.001). The differences in the SYNTAX-Score were less obvious but even significant (stable 14.9 ± 8.6, NSTEMI 17.8 ± 9.9, STEMI 18.3 ± 9.0; p < 0.001). Patients in the highest tertiles of each risk score experienced a dramatically elevated mortality rate compared to the extremely low mortality rate in the lower tertiles (p log-rank <0.001). This comparison remained significant for the EuroSCORE and STS-Score but not for the SYNTAX-Score, when analysis was restricted to stable patients. The multivariate Cox-regression-analysis confirmed the logistic EuroSCORE, EuroSCORE II, and the STS-Score as independent predictors of long-term mortality, whereas the SYNTAX-Score (including residual form) and the CSS had no predictive value. CONCLUSION: The EuroSCORE and the STS-Score outperforms the SYNTAX-Score and the CSS in predicting long-term survival following MV-PCI. In addition, the residual SYNTAX-Score predicts long-term survival not independently.

Circulating microRNAs in patients with coronary artery disease.

RATIONALE: MicroRNAs are small RNAs that control gene expression. Besides their cell intrinsic function, recent studies reported that microRNAs are released by cultured cells and can be detected in the blood. OBJECTIVE: To address the regulation of circulating microRNAs in patients with stable coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: To determine the regulation of microRNAs, we performed a microRNA profile using RNA isolated from n=8 healthy volunteers and n=8 patients with stable coronary artery disease that received state-of-the-art pharmacological treatment. Interestingly, most of the highly expressed microRNAs that were lower in the blood of patients with coronary artery disease are known to be expressed in endothelial cells (eg, miR-126 and members of the miR-17 approximately 92 cluster). To prospectively confirm these data, we detected selected microRNAs in plasma of 36 patients with coronary artery disease and 17 healthy volunteers by quantitative PCR. Consistent with the data obtained by the profile, circulating levels of miR-126, miR-17, miR-92a, and the inflammation-associated miR-155 were significantly reduced in patients with coronary artery disease compared with healthy controls. Likewise, the smooth muscle-enriched miR-145 was significantly reduced. In contrast, cardiac muscle-enriched microRNAs (miR-133a, miR-208a) tend to be higher in patients with coronary artery disease. These results were validated in a second cohort of 31 patients with documented coronary artery disease and 14 controls. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating levels of vascular and inflammation-associated microRNAs are significantly downregulated in patients with coronary artery disease.

Occurrence and prognostic impact of systemic inflammatory response syndrome in transfemoral and transapical aortic valve implantation with balloon- and self-expandable valves.

AIMS: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an alternative therapeutic option for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) and elevated surgical risk. Previous studies have suggested that the occurrence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in patients undergoing TAVI is associated with an unfavourable outcome. We sought to assess the impact of different interventional access routes (transapical [TA] vs. transfemoral [TF]) and valve types (Medtronic CoreValve® [CV] vs. Edwards SAPIEN XT® [ES]) on the incidence of SIRS. In addition, the prognostic value of SIRS was evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between January 2009 and July 2011 a total of 192 (out of 228) consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis underwent TAVI at the University Hospital Frankfurt and were included in the current retrospective analysis. SIRS criteria were evaluated within the first 48 hours after TAVI. SIRS was defined according to existing definitions of the ACCP/SCCM Consensus Conference. A total of 75 (39.1%) patients developed SIRS at some time during the first 48 hours following TAVI. The occurrence of SIRS was independent from access route (TA 42.3% vs. TF 37.0%; p=0.28) as well as from type of valve used (ES 42.5% vs. CV 32.3%; p=0.11). However, the occurrence of SIRS was associated with a more than twofold higher one-year mortality rate (21.3%) compared to patients without SIRS in the first 48 hours (5.3%; p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of SIRS in the first 48 hours post procedure is associated with impaired prognosis following TAVI, but is independent from the chosen valve type and access route.

Prognostic impact of using drug-eluting-stents on outcome and strategy in multivessel PCI: data from the Frankfurt MV-PCI registry.

BACKGROUND: Drug-eluting-stents (DES) reduce clinical restenosis, but have mostly failed to demonstrate a reduction in death or myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of the introduction of DES in patients undergoing multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention (MV-PCI). METHODS: Survival was assessed in 679 consecutive patients, who underwent PCI in at least two main vessels. Follow-up was available in 667 patients (98%) with a mean follow-up of 4.8 ± 2.5 years. We compared several scenarios: firstly, patients receiving at least one DES (≥ 1 DES group) vs. bare metal stent (BMS)-only patients (BMS only); secondly, the population was divided into a pre-DES-era (2000-2003; N=257) and a DES-era (2004-2006; N=422). RESULTS: 316 patients (47%) were treated for acute myocardial infarction (MI; N=176 ST-elevation MI; N=140 non-ST-elevation MI). On average, 2.2 ± 0.4 vessels were treated and 212 patients received at least one DES. The DES group showed a higher number of diseased (2.5 ± 0.6 vs. 2.4 ± 0.5; p=0.02) and treated vessels (2.2 ± 0.5 vs. 2.1 ± 0.3; p<0.01) and received more stents (3.3 ± 1.4 vs. 3.0 ± 1.1; p<0.01). The BMS group presented more frequently with acute MI (55% vs. 29%; p<0.01). The DES group showed more complex disease as evidenced by a higher SYNTAX-Score (17.4 ± 8.5 vs. 14.5 ± 8.3; p<0.01). Restricting the survival analysis to patients with stable coronary artery disease, a significant prognostic advantage was found for patients received at least one DES compared to the BMS group (hazard ratio 0.58, 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.99) in the multivariate cox-regression-analysis. CONCLUSION: The introduction of DES leads to extension of treatment to more complex patients. The use of DES is associated with improved survival in stable patients undergoing MV-PCI.