Subclinical myocardial damage after anthracycline chemotherapy in Japanese patients with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Data on the incidence, timing, and severity of myocardial damage after anthracycline-based chemotherapy (AC) in Japanese patients with breast cancer are limited. METHOD: We evaluated cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) in Japanese women with breast cancer (n = 51) after the first AC according to the definitions of the 2022 European Society of Cardiology onco-cardiology guideline, including assessment of high-sensitivity troponin I (TnI) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. RESULTS: CTRCD was detected in 67 % of the patients (3.9 %, 7.8 %, 9.8 %, 43 %, 37 %, 22 %, 20 %, and 9.8 % of patients at 1 week and 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months post-AC, respectively) without significant left ventricular ejection fraction reduction (<50 %) and heart failure. Elevated TnI levels (>26 pg/mL) were found in 43 % of patients, and elevated BNP levels (≥35 pg/mL) were observed in 22 % of patients during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately two-thirds of the Japanese patients in this study experienced CTRCD, which was frequently observed at 3 or 6 months post-AC. However, all patients with CTRCD were diagnosed with mild asymptomatic CTRCD. Although, these patients were diagnosed with mild asymptomatic CTRCD, careful long-term follow-up will be required.

Polypharmacy and Bleeding Outcomes After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Polypharmacy was reported to be associated with major bleeding in various populations. However, there are no data on polypharmacy and its association with bleeding in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods and Results: Among 12,291 patients in the CREDO-Kyoto PCI Registry Cohort-3, we evaluated the number of medications at discharge and compared major bleeding, defined as Bleeding Academic Research Consortium Type 3 or 5 bleeding, across tertiles (T1-3) of the number of medications. The median number of medications was 6, and 88.0% of patients were on ≥5 medications. The cumulative 5-year incidence of major bleeding increased incrementally with increasing number of medications (T1 [≤5 medications] 12.5%, T2 [6-7] 16.5%, and T3 [≥8] 20.4%; log-rank P<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, the risks for major bleeding of T2 (hazard ratio [HR] 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-1.36; P=0.001) and T3 (HR 1.27; 95% CI 1.12-1.45; P<0.001) relative to T1 remained significant. The adjusted risks of T2 and T3 relative to T1 were not significant for a composite of myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke (HR 0.95 [95% CI 0.83-1.09; P=0.47] and HR 1.06 [95% CI 0.91-1.23; P=0.48], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In a real-world population of patients undergoing PCI, approximately 90% were on ≥5 medications. Increasing number of medications was associated with a higher adjusted risk for major bleeding, but not ischemic events.

The characteristics and outcomes in patients with acute heart failure who used tolvaptan: from KCHF registry.

AIMS: The use of tolvaptan is increasing in clinical practice in Japan. However, the characteristics of patients who used tolvaptan and the timing of its use in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) are not fully elucidated. METHODS AND RESULTS: Among consecutive 4056 patients in the Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure registry, we analysed 3802 patients after excluding patients on dialysis, prior or unknown tolvaptan use at admission, and unknown timing of tolvaptan use, and we divided them into two groups: tolvaptan use (N = 773) and no tolvaptan use (N = 3029). The prevalence of tolvaptan use varied widely from 48.7% to 0% across the participating centres. Factors independently associated with tolvaptan use were diabetes, poor medical adherence, oedema, pleural effusion, hyponatraemia, estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 , moderate/severe tricuspid regurgitation, dobutamine infusion within 24 h, and additional inotropes infusion beyond 24 h after admission. The mortality rate at 90 days after admission was significantly higher in the tolvaptan use group than in the no tolvaptan use group (14.3% vs. 8.6%, P = 0.049). However, after adjustment, the excess mortality risk of tolvaptan use relative to no tolvaptan use was no longer significant (hazard ratio = 1.53, 95% confidence interval = 0.77-3.02, P = 0.22). Patients with tolvaptan use had a longer hospital stay [median (interquartile range): 22 (15-34) days vs. 15 (11-21) days, P < 0.0001] and a higher prevalence of worsening renal failure (47.0% vs. 31.8%, P < 0.0001) and worsening heart failure (24.8% vs. 14.4%, P < 0.0001) than those without. CONCLUSIONS: AHF patients with tolvaptan use had more congestive status with poorer in-hospital outcomes and higher short-term mortality than those without tolvaptan use. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02334891 (NCT02334891) and https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000017241 (UMIN000015238).

Prognostic Impact of Hyperpolypharmacy Due to Noncardiovascular Medications in Patients After Acute Decompensated Heart Failure　- Insights From the Clue of Risk Stratification in the Elderly Patients With Heart Failure (CURE-HF) Registry.

BACKGROUND: Hyperpolypharmacy is associated with adverse outcomes in older adults, but because literature on its association with cardiovascular (CV) outcomes after acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is sparse, we investigated the relationships among hyperpolypharmacy, medication class, and death in patients with HF.Methods and Results: We evaluated the total number of medications prescribed to 884 patients at discharge following ADHF. Patients were categorized into nonpolypharmacy (<5 medications), polypharmacy (5-9 medications), and hyperpolypharmacy (≥10 medications) groups. We examined the relationship of polypharmacy status with the 2-year mortality rate. The proportion of patients taking ≥5 medications was 91.3% (polypharmacy, 55.3%; hyperpolypharmacy, 36.0%). Patients in the hyperpolypharmacy group showed worse outcomes than patients in the other 2 groups (P=0.002). After multivariable adjustment, the total number of medications was significantly associated with an increased risk of death (hazard ratio [HR] per additional increase in the number of medications, 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.10; P=0.027). Although the number of non-CV medications was significantly associated with death (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.13; P=0.01), the number of CV medications was not (HR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.92-1.10; P=0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperpolypharmacy due to non-CV medications was associated with an elevated risk of death in patients after ADHF, suggesting the importance of a regular review of the prescribed drugs including non-CV medications.

Tricuspid regurgitation in elderly patients with acute heart failure: insights from the KCHF registry.

AIMS: Several studies demonstrated that tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, data on patients with TR who experienced acute heart failure (AHF) remains scarce. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between TR and clinical outcomes in patients admitted with AHF, using a large-scale Japanese AHF registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: The current study population consisted of 3735 hospitalized patients due to AHF in the Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure (KCHF) registry. TR grades were assessed according to the routine clinical practice at each participating centre. We compared the baseline characteristics and outcomes according to the severity of TR. The primary outcome was all-cause death. The secondary outcome was hospitalization for heart failure (HF). The median age of the entire study population was 80 (interquartile range: 72-86) years. One thousand two hundred five patients (32.3%) had no TR, while mild, moderate, and severe TR was found in 1537 patients (41.2%), 776 patients (20.8%), and 217 patients (5.8%), respectively. Pulmonary hypertension, significant mitral regurgitation, and atrial fibrillation/flutter were strongly associated with the development of moderate/severe of TR, while left ventricular ejection fraction <50% was inversely associated with it. Among 993 patients with moderate/severe TR, the number of patients who underwent surgical intervention for TR within 1 year was only 13 (1.3%). The median follow-up duration was 475 (interquartile range: 365-653) days with 94.0% follow-up at 1 year. As the TR severity increased, the cumulative 1 year incidence of all-cause death and HF admission proportionally increased ([14.8%, 20.3%, 23.4%, 27.0%] and [18.9%, 23.0%, 28.5%, 28.4%] in no, mild, moderate, and severe TR, respectively). Compared with no TR, the adjusted risks of patients with mild, moderate, and severe TR were significant for all-cause death (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.20 [1.00-1.43], P = 0.0498, 1.32 [1.07-1.62], P = 0.009, and 1.35 [1.00-1.83], P = 0.049, respectively), while those were not significant for hospitalization for HF (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.16 [0.97-1.38], P = 0.10, 1.19 [0.96-1.46], P = 0.11, and 1.20 [0.87-1.65], P = 0.27, respectively). The higher adjusted HRs of all the TR grades relative to no TR were significant for all-cause death in patients aged <80 years, but not in patients aged ≥80 years with significant interaction. CONCLUSIONS: In a large Japanese AHF population, the grades of TR could successfully stratify the risk of all-cause death. However, the association of TR with mortality was only modest and attenuated in patients aged 80 or more. Further research is warranted to evaluate how to follow up and manage TR in this elderly population.

Polypharmacy and Clinical Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

BACKGROUND: Polypharmacy is a common problem among patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) who often have multiple comorbidities. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to define the number of medications at hospital discharge and whether it is associated with clinical outcomes at 1 year. METHODS: We evaluated the number of medications in 2578 patients with ADHF who were ambulatory at hospital discharge in the Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure Registry and compared 1-year outcomes in 4 groups categorized by quartiles of the number of medications (quartile 1, ≤ 5; quartile 2, 6-8; quartile 3, 9-11; and quartile 4, ≥ 12). RESULTS: At hospital discharge, the median number of medications was 8 (interquartile range, 6-11) with 81.5% and 27.8% taking more than 5 and more than 10 medications, respectively. The cumulative 1-year incidence of a composite of death or rehospitalization (primary outcome measure) increased incrementally with an increasing number of medications (quartile 1, 30.8%; quartile 2, 31.6%; quartile 3, 39.7%; quartile 4, 50.3%; P < .0001). After adjusting for confounders, the excess risks of quartile 4 relative to those of quartile 1 remained significant ( P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: In the contemporary cohort of patients with ADHF in Japan, polypharmacy at hospital discharge was common, and excessive polypharmacy was associated with a higher risk of mortality and rehospitalizations within a 1-year period. Collaborative disease management programs that include a careful review of medication lists and an appropriate deprescribing protocol should be implemented for these patients.

Public assistance in patients with acute heart failure: a report from the KCHF registry.

AIMS: There is a scarcity of data on the post-discharge prognosis in acute heart failure (AHF) patients with a low-income but receiving public assistance. The study sought to evaluate the differences in the clinical characteristics and outcomes between AHF patients receiving public assistance and those not receiving public assistance. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure registry was a physician-initiated, prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study enrolling 4056 consecutive patients who were hospitalized due to AHF for the first time between October 2014 and March 2016. The present study population consisted of 3728 patients who were discharged alive from the index AHF hospitalization. We divided the patients into two groups, those receiving public assistance and those not receiving public assistance. After assessing the proportional hazard assumption of public assistance as a variable, we constructed multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the risk of the public assistance group relative to the no public assistance group. There were 218 patients (5.8%) receiving public assistance and 3510 (94%) not receiving public assistance. Patients in the public assistance group were younger, more frequently had chronic coronary artery disease, previous heart failure hospitalizations, current smoking, poor medical adherence, living alone, no occupation, and a lower left ventricular ejection fraction than those in the no public assistance group. During a median follow-up of 470 days, the cumulative 1 year incidences of all-cause death and heart failure hospitalizations after discharge did not differ between the public assistance group and no public assistance group (13.3% vs. 17.4%, P = 0.10, and 28.3% vs. 23.8%, P = 0.25, respectively). After adjusting for the confounders, the risk of the public assistance group relative to the no public assistance group remained insignificant for all-cause death [hazard ratio (HR), 0.97; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.69-1.32; P = 0.84]. Even after taking into account the competing risk of all-cause death, the adjusted risk within 180 days in the public assistance group relative to the no public assistance group remained insignificant for heart failure hospitalizations (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.64-1.34; P = 0.69), while the adjusted risk beyond 180 days was significant (HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.07-2.29; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The AHF patients receiving public assistance as compared with those not receiving public assistance had no significant excess risk for all-cause death at 1 year after discharge or a heart failure hospitalization within 180 days after discharge, while they did have a significant excess risk for heart failure hospitalizations beyond 180 days after discharge. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02334891 (NCT02334891) and https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000017241 (UMIN000015238).

Coronary angiography in patients with acute heart failure: from the KCHF registry.

AIMS: Little is known about the characteristics and outcomes of patients who undergo coronary angiography during heart failure (HF) hospitalization, as well as those with coronary stenosis, and those who underwent coronary revascularization. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analysed 2163 patients who were hospitalized for HF without acute coronary syndrome or prior HF hospitalization. We compared patient characteristics and 1 year clinical outcomes according to (i) patients with versus without coronary angiography, (ii) patients with versus without coronary stenosis, and (iii) patients with versus without coronary revascularization. The primary outcome measure was the composite of all-cause death or HF hospitalization. Coronary angiography was performed in 37.0% of patients. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, factors independently associated with coronary angiography were age < 80 years [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.41-2.20, P < 0.001], men (adjusted OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.03-1.59, P = 0.02), diabetes (adjusted OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.02-1.60, P = 0.04), no atrial fibrillation or flutter (adjusted OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.17-1.82, P < 0.001), no prior device implantation (adjusted OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.13-2.91, P = 0.01), current smoking (adjusted OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.05-1.87, P = 0.02), no cognitive dysfunction (adjusted OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.34-2.69, P < 0.001), ambulatory status (adjusted OR = 2.89, 95% CI = 2.03-4.10, P < 0.001), HF with reduced ejection fraction (adjusted OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.24-1.93, P < 0.001), estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥ 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (adjusted OR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.45-2.58, P < 0.001), no anaemia (adjusted OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.02-1.59, P = 0.04), and no prescription of ß-blockers prior to admission (adjusted OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.03-1.68, P = 0.03). Patients who underwent coronary angiography had a lower risk of the primary outcome [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.58-0.85, P < 0.001]. Among the patients who underwent coronary angiography, those with coronary stenosis (38.9%) did not have lower risk of the primary outcome measure than those without coronary stenosis (adjusted HR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.65-1.32, P = 0.68). Among the patients with coronary stenosis, those with coronary revascularization (54.3%) did not have higher risk of the primary outcome measure than those without coronary revascularization (adjusted HR = 1.36, 95% CI = 0.84-2.21, P = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with acute HF, patients who underwent coronary angiography had a lower risk of clinical outcomes and were significantly different from those who did not undergo coronary angiography.

A nationwide survey on participation in cardiac rehabilitation among patients with coronary heart disease using health claims data in Japan.

Poor implementation and variable quality of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for coronary heart disease (CHD) have been a global concern. This nationwide study aimed to clarify the implementation of and participation in CR among CHD patients and associated factors in Japan. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data extracted from the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan. Patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in 2017-2018 were included. Aspects of CR were assessed in terms of (1) participation in exercise-based CR, (2) pharmacological education, and (3) nutritional education. Of 87,829 eligible patients, 32% had participated in exercise-based CR, with a mean program length of 40 ± 71 days. CABG was associated with higher CR participation compared to PCI (OR 10.2, 95% CI 9.6-10.8). Patients living in the Kyushu region were more likely to participate in CR (OR 2.59, 95% CI 2.39-2.81). Among patients who participated in CR, 92% received pharmacological education, whereas only 67% received nutritional education. In Japan, the implementation of CR for CHD is insufficient and involved varying personal, therapeutic, and geographical factors. CR implementation needs to be promoted in the future.

Effect of Polypharmacy on Long-Term Mortality After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Polypharmacy was reported to be associated with increased mortality in various populations. However, there is a scarcity of data on status of polypharmacy and association with long-term mortality in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Among 12,291 patients who underwent first PCI in the CREDO-Kyoto PCI/CABG registry Cohort-3, we evaluated the number of medications at discharge from index PCI hospitalization, and compared long-term mortality across the 3 groups divided by the tertiles of the number of medications. The median number of medications was 6 (interquartile range: 5 to 8), and 88.0% of the patients were on >=5 medications. Most of medications were those related to cardiovascular disease. Patients taking more medications were older and more often had co-morbidities and guideline-indicated medications. The cumulative 5-year incidence of all-cause death increased incrementally with increasing number of medications (Tertile 1 [<=5]: 13.1%, Tertile 2 [6 to 7]: 13.9%, and Tertile 3 [>=8]: 18.0%, log-rank p <0.001). After adjusting confounders, the mortality risks of Tertile 2 and Tertile 3 relative to Tertile 1 were no longer significant (Tertile 2: hazard ratio 0.93; 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.04; p = 0.23, and Tertile 3: hazard ratio 0.91; 95% confidence interval 0.81 to 1.03; p = 0.14, respectively). In conclusion, in a real-world population of patients who underwent PCI, approximately 90% of patients were on >=5 medications. Increasing medications was associated with higher crude incidence of all-cause death, whereas adjusted mortality risks were similar regardless of the number of medications. These data might suggest that achievement of optimal medical therapy would be preferred, even if it might increase the number of medications used.

Lower In-Hospital Mortality With Beta-Blocker Use at Admission in Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

Background It remains unclear whether beta-blocker use at hospital admission is associated with better in-hospital outcomes in patients with acute decompensated heart failure. Methods and Results We evaluated the factors independently associated with beta-blocker use at admission, and the effect of beta-blocker use at admission on in-hospital mortality in 3817 patients with acute decompensated heart failure enrolled in the Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure registry. There were 1512 patients (39.7%) receiving, and 2305 patients (60.3%) not receiving beta-blockers at admission for the index acute decompensated heart failure hospitalization. Factors independently associated with beta-blocker use at admission were previous heart failure hospitalization, history of myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, cardiomyopathy, and estimated glomerular filtration rate <30 mL/min per 1.73 m2. Factors independently associated with no beta-blocker use were asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower body mass index, dementia, older age, and left ventricular ejection fraction <40%. Patients on beta-blockers had significantly lower in-hospital mortality rates (4.4% versus 7.6%, P<0.001). Even after adjusting for confounders, beta-blocker use at admission remained significantly associated with lower in-hospital mortality risk (odds ratio, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.27-0.60, P<0.001). Furthermore, beta-blocker use at admission was significantly associated with both lower cardiovascular mortality risk and lower noncardiovascular mortality risk. The association of beta-blocker use with lower in-hospital mortality risk was relatively more prominent in patients receiving high dose beta-blockers. The magnitude of the effect of beta-blocker use was greater in patients with previous heart failure hospitalization than in patients without (P for interaction 0.04). Conclusions Beta-blocker use at admission was associated with lower in-hospital mortality in patients with acute decompensated heart failure. Registration URL: https://www.upload.umin.ac.jp/; Unique identifier: UMIN000015238.

Late-night-dinner deteriorates postprandial glucose and insulin whereas consuming dinner dividedly ameliorates them in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized crossover clinical trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study is to explore the acute effect of consuming dinner at different timing on postprandial glucose and hormone in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Eight patients (age 70.8±1.9 years, HbA1c 7.6±0.6 %, BMI 23.3±3.2, mean±SD) were randomly assigned in this crossover study. Patients consumed the test meals of dinner at 18:00 on the first day, and dinner at 21:00 or divided dinner (vegetable and rice at 18:00 and vegetable and the main dish at 21:00) on the second or third day. Postprandial glucose, insulin, glucagon, free fatty acid (FFA), active glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and active glucose- dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) concentration after dinner were evaluated. RESULTS: Both incremental area under the curve (IAUC) 2h for glucose and insulin were higher in dinner at 21:00 than those in dinner at 18:00 (IAUC glucose: 449±83 vs 216±43 mmol/L×min, p<0.01, IAUC insulin:772±104 vs 527±107 µU/mL×min, p<0.01, mean±SEM). However, in divided dinner both IAUC 4h for glucose and insulin tended to be lower than those of dinner at 21:00 (IAUC glucose: 269±76 mmol/L×min, p=0.070, IAUC insulin: 552±114 µU/mL×min, p=0.070). IAUC of active GLP-1 and active GIP demonstrated no difference among different dinner regimen. CONCLUSIONS: Consuming late-night-dinner (21:00) deteriorates postprandial glucose and insulin compared with those of early-evening-dinner (18:00) whereas consuming dinner dividedly ameliorates them.

Relation of contrast-induced nephropathy to long-term mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention.

There is little information on the effect of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) on long-term mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with or without chronic kidney disease (CKD). Of 4,371 patients who had paired serum creatinine (SCr) measurements before and after percutaneous coronary intervention and were discharged alive in the Coronary REvascularization Demonstrating Outcome Study in Kyoto registry, the incidence of CIN (an increase in SCr of ≥0.5 mg/dl from the baseline) was 5% in our study cohort. The rate of CIN in patients with CKD was 11%, although it was 2% without CKD (p <0.0001). During a median follow-up of 42.3 months after discharge, 374 patients (8.6%) died. After adjustment for prespecified confounders, CIN was significantly correlated with long-term mortality in the entire cohort (hazard ratio [HR] 2.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.62 to 2.29, p <0.0001) and in patients with CKD (HR 2.62, 95% CI 1.91 to 3.57, p <0.0001) but not in patients without CKD (HR 1.23, 95% CI 0.47 to 2.62, p = 0.6). Sensitivity analyses confirmed these results using the criteria defined as elevations of the SCr by ≥25% and 0.3 mg/dl from the baseline, respectively. In conclusion, CIN was significantly correlated with long-term mortality in patients with CKD but not in those without CKD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--an independent risk factor for long-term cardiac and cardiovascular mortality in patients with ischemic heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Limited data are available on long-term mortality and morbidity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and ischemic heart disease. We examined how COPD affects long-term mortality and morbidity after undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS: We analyzed 9877 consecutive patients who underwent their first elective PCI (n=6878) and CABG (n=2999) in 2000-2002 at 30 institutions listed in the CREDO-Kyoto registry. RESULTS: COPD was diagnosed in 240 patients (2.4%). In-hospital mortality (1.3% vs. 1.2%, p=0.972) did not differ between patients with and without COPD. During long-term follow-up (42. 8 month s), 906 patients (9.4%) died, 517 (5.3%) of whom died of cardiovascular death and 376 (3.9%), of cardiac death. At 3 years, the unadjusted survival rate and the rates of freedom from cardiovascular death and cardiac death were 92.1%, 95.3%, and 96.5% in the total population and 82.8%, 91.7%, and 92.1% in patients with COPD respectively. Log-rank test indicated that COPD was associated with higher incidence of all-cause mortality (p<0.0001), cardiovascular death (p=0.0002), and cardiac death (p<0.0001). Multivariate analyses indicated that COPD was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.36, p=0.0003), cardiovascular death (hazard ratio 1.28, p=0.0407), and cardiac death (hazard ratio 1.48, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: COPD is an independent risk factor for long-term cardiac and cardiovascular mortality in patients with ischemic heart disease.

Long-term outcomes of coronary-artery bypass graft surgery versus percutaneous coronary intervention for multivessel coronary artery disease in the bare-metal stent era.

BACKGROUND: Observational registries comparing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have reported long-term survival results that are discordant with those of randomized trials. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a multicenter study in Japan enrolling consecutive patients undergoing first CABG or PCI between January 2000 and December 2002. Among 9877 patients enrolled, 5420 (PCI: 3712, CABG: 1708) had multivessel disease without left main involvement. Because age is an important determinant when choosing revascularization strategies, survival analysis was stratified by either age >/=75 or <75 years. Analyses were also performed in other relevant subgroups. Median follow-up interval was 1284 days with 95% follow-up rate at 2 years. At 3 years, unadjusted survival rates were 91.7% and 89.6% in the CABG and PCI groups, respectively (log rank P=0.26). After adjustment for baseline characteristics, survival outcome tended to be better after CABG (hazard ratio for death after PCI versus CABG [HR], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23 [0.99-1.53], P=0.06). Adjusted survival outcomes also tended to be better for CABG among elderly patients (HR [95%CI]: 1.37 [0.98-1.92] P=0.07), but not among nonelderly patients (HR [95% CI]: 1.09 [0.82-1.46], P=0.55). Unadjusted and adjusted survival outcome for CABG and PCI were not significantly different in any subgroups when elderly patients were excluded from analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In the CREDO-Kyoto registry, survival outcomes among patients <75 years of age were similar after PCI and CABG, a result that is consistent with those of randomized trials.

Better survival with statin administration after revascularization therapy in Japanese patients with coronary artery disease: perspectives from the CREDO-Kyoto registry.

BACKGROUND: The importance of statins in cardiovascular prevention has been demonstrated in various patient subsets. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of statins on long-term outcomes of Japanese patients undergoing their first coronary revascularization. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 9,225 patients undergoing their first coronary revascularizations during 2000--2002 were divided into 2 groups according to the use of statins at discharge; patients with acute myocardial infarction were not included. Statins was administered to only 28.5% (n=2,630) of the patients. The median follow-up period was 3.5 years. Patients on statin therapy showed lower all-cause (5.2% vs 10.0%; p<0.0001) and cardiovascular (3.2% vs 6.2%; p<0.0001) mortality than those without statins (n=6,595) by Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test. After adjustment by multivariate analysis according to 29 variables, statin therapy remained as an independent predictor of reduced all-cause (relative risk ratio (RR) 0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59-0.86, p=0.0005) and cardiovascular (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.56-0.91, p=0.0067) mortality. The validity of RR of statin therapy in multivariate analysis was further confirmed by risk adjustment using propensity scores (all-cause mortality: propensity-adjusted RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.58-0.85, p=0.0003; cardiovascular mortality: propensity-adjusted RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.54-0.89, p=0.0038). CONCLUSIONS: Statin therapy started at hospital discharge was associated with increased chance of survival in Japanese patients undergoing their first coronary revascularization.