Ad Hoc Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Stable Patients With Multivessel or Unprotected Left Main Disease.

BACKGROUND: There is very little information about the use of ad hoc percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in stable patients with multivessel (MV) disease or unprotected left main (LM) disease patients for whom a heart team approach is recommended. OBJECTIVE: To identify the extent of ad hoc PCI utilization for patients with multivessel disease or left main disease, and to explore the inter-hospital variation in ad hoc PCI utilization for those patients. METHODS: New York State's cardiac registries were used to examine the use and variation in use of ad hoc PCI for MV/LM disease as a percentage of all MV/LM PCIs and revascularizations (PCIs plus coronary artery bypass graft procedures) during 2018 to 2019 in New York. RESULTS: After exclusions, 6,425 of the 8,196 stable PCI patients with MV/LM disease (78.4%) underwent ad hoc PCI, ranging from 58.7% for patients with unprotected LM disease to 85.4% for patients with 2-vessel proximal left anterior descending (PLAD) disease. Ad hoc PCIs comprised 35.1% of all revascularizations, ranging from 11.5% for patients with unprotected LM disease to 63.9% for patients with 2-vessel PLAD disease. The risk-adjusted utilization of ad hoc PCI as a percentage of all revascularizations varied widely among hospitals (eg, from 15% in the first quartile to 46% in the last quartile for 3-vessel disease). CONCLUSIONS: Ad hoc PCIs occur frequently even among patients with MV/LM disease. This is particularly true among patients with 2-vessel PLAD disease. The frequency of ad hoc PCIs is lower but still high among patients with diabetes and low ejection fraction and higher in hospitals without surgery on-site (SOS). Given the magnitude of hospital- and physician-level variation in the use of ad hoc PCIs for such patients, consideration should be given to a systems approach to achieving heart team consultation and shared decision making that is consistent for SOS and non-SOS hospitals.

A Clinical Perspective on Arsenic Exposure and Development of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.

Cardiovascular risk has traditionally been defined by modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors, such as tobacco use, hyperlipidemia, and family history. However, chemicals and pollutants may also play a role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is widely distributed in the Earth's crust. Inorganic arsenic (iAs) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, with chronic high-dose exposure to iAs (> 100 µg/L) being linked to CVD; however, whether low-to-moderate dose exposures of iAs (< 100 µg/L) are associated with the development of CVD is unclear. Due to limitations of the existing literature, it is difficult to define a threshold for iAs toxicity. Studies demonstrate that the effect of iAs on CVD is far more complex with influences from several factors, including diet, genetics, metabolism, and traditional risk factors such as hypertension and smoking. In this article, we review the existing data of low-to-moderate dose iAs exposure and its effect on CVD, along with highlighting the potential mechanisms of action.

Hybrid coronary revascularization vs. percutaneous coronary interventions for multivessel coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVE: Hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR) combines a minimally invasive surgical approach to the left anterior descending (LAD) artery with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for non-LAD diseased coronary arteries. It is associated with shorter hospital lengths of stay and recovery times than conventional coronary artery bypass surgery, but there is little information comparing it to isolated PCI for multivessel disease. Our objective is to compare long-term outcomes of HCR and PCI for patients with multivessel disease. METHODS: This cohort study used data from New York's cardiac surgery and PCI registries in 2010-2016 to examine mortality and repeat revascularization rates for patients with multivessel coronary artery disease who underwent HCR and PCI. Cox proportional hazards methods were used to reduce selection bias. Patients were followed for a median of four years. RESULTS: There was a total of 335 HCR patients (1.2%) and 25,557 PCI patients (98.8%) after exclusions. There was no difference in 6-year risk adjusted survival between HCR and PCI patients (83.17% vs. 81.65%, adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.90 (95% CI: 0.67-1.20). However, HCR patients were more likely to be free from repeat revascularization in the LAD artery (91.13% vs. 83.59%, aHR = 0.51 (95% CI: 0.34-0.77)). CONCLUSIONS: For patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease, HCR is rarely performed. There are no differences in mortality rates after four years, but HCR is associated with lower repeat revascularization rates in the LAD artery, presumably due to better longevity in left arterial mammary grafts.

Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease and Acute Myocardial Infarction in Hospitals With and Without On-Site Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have revealed no outcome differences among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in hospitals with and without surgery on-site (SOS), but one earlier study found differences in target vessel PCI rates and in mortality for patients with acute myocardial infarction who did not undergo PCI. It is important to examine outcome differences between SOS and non-SOS hospitals with more contemporary data. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 21 924 propensity-matched patients who were discharged between January 1, 2013, and November 30, 2015, who were in the New York PCI registry and other hospital databases were used to compare outcomes in hospitals with and without SOS for all patients and for patients with and without ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing PCI. Also, 30-day mortality was compared for patients with STEMI regardless of whether they underwent PCI. For all patients with PCI and patients without STEMI, there were no significant differences in in-hospital/30-day mortality, 2-year mortality, or 2-year repeat target lesion PCI. For patients with STEMI, there were no significant mortality differences between patients in SOS and non-SOS hospitals. Patients with STEMI in SOS hospitals had significantly lower 2-year repeat target lesion PCI rates (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.68 [0.49-0.94]). There was no difference in the percentage of patients undergoing PCI in the 2 types of hospitals (75.7% versus 74.6%; P=0.21) or in 30-day mortality of all patients with STEMI (patients who did and did not undergo PCI, 10.86% versus 11.32%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.06 [0.88-1.29]). CONCLUSIONS: Short-term and long-term outcomes were not different in SOS and non-SOS hospitals except that 2-year repeat target lesion PCI rates were lower in SOS hospitals for patients with STEMI.

Changes in Percutaneous Coronary Interventions Deemed "Inappropriate" by Appropriate Use Criteria.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated relatively high rates of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) classified as "inappropriate." The New York State Department of Health shared rates with hospitals and announced the intention of withholding reimbursement pending demonstration of clinical rationale for Medicaid patients with inappropriate PCIs. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to examine changes over time in the number and rate of inappropriate PCIs. METHODS: Appropriate use criteria were applied to PCIs performed in New York in patients without acute coronary syndromes or previous coronary artery bypass graft surgery in periods before (2010 through 2011) and after (2012 through 2014) efforts were made to decrease inappropriateness rates. Changes in the number of appropriate PCIs were also assessed. RESULTS: The percentage of inappropriate PCIs for all patients dropped from 18.2% in 2010 to 10.6% in 2014 (from 15.3% to 6.8% for Medicaid patients, and from 18.6% to 11.2% for other patients). The total number of PCIs in patients with no acute coronary syndrome/no prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery that were rated as inappropriate decreased from 2,956 patients in 2010 to 911 patients in 2014, a reduction of 69%. For Medicaid patients, the decrease was from 340 patients to 84 patients, a decrease of 75%. For a select set of higher-risk scenarios, there were higher numbers of appropriate PCIs per year in the period from 2012 to 2014. CONCLUSIONS: The inappropriateness rate for PCIs and the use of PCI for elective procedures in New York has decreased substantially between 2010 and 2014. This decrease has occurred for a large proportion of PCI hospitals.

Mechanisms of action for arsenic in cardiovascular toxicity and implications for risk assessment.

The possibility of an association between inorganic arsenic (iAs) exposure and cardiovascular outcomes has received increasing attention in the literature over the past decade. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) is currently revising its Integrated Risk Assessment System (IRIS) review of iAs, and one of the non-cancer endpoints of interest is cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite the increased interest in this area, substantial gaps remain in the available information, particularly regarding the mechanism of action (MOA) by which iAs could cause or exacerbate CVD. Few studies specifically address the plausibility of an association between iAs and CVD at the low exposure levels which are typical in the United States (i.e., below 100 µg As/L in drinking water). We have conducted a review and evaluation of the animal, mechanistic, and human data relevant to the potential MOAs of iAs and CVD. Specifically, we evaluated the most common proposed MOAs, which include disturbance of endothelial function and hepatic dysfunction. Our analysis of the available evidence indicates that there is not a well-established MOA for iAs in the development or progression of CVD. Few human studies of the potential MOAs have addressed plausibility at low doses and the applicability of extrapolation from animal studies to humans is questionable. However, the available evidence indicates that regardless of the specific MOA, the effects of iAs on physiological processes at the cellular level appear to operate via a threshold mechanism. This finding is consistent with the lack of association of CVD with iAs exposure in humans at levels below 100 µg/L, particularly when considering important exposure and risk modifiers such as nutrition and genetics. Based on this analysis, we conclude that there are no data supporting a linear dose-response relationship between iAs and CVD, indicating this relationship has a threshold.

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery versus drug-eluting stents for patients with isolated proximal left anterior descending disease.

BACKGROUND: Few recent studies have compared the outcomes of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) in patients with isolated (single vessel) proximal left anterior descending (PLAD) coronary artery disease in the era of drug-eluting stents (DES). OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to compare outcomes in patients with PLAD who underwent CABG and PCI with DES. METHODS: New York's Percutaneous Coronary Interventions Reporting System was used to identify and track all patients who underwent CABG surgery and received DES for isolated PLAD disease between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2010, and who were followed-up through December 31, 2011. A total of 5,340 of 6,064 (88%) patients received DES. Patients were matched to vital statistics data to obtain mortality after discharge and matched to New York's administrative data to obtain readmissions for myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke. To minimize selection bias, patients were propensity matched into 715 CABG and/or DES pairs, and 3 outcome measures were compared across the pairs. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier estimates for CABG and DES did not significantly differ for mortality or mortality, MI, and/or stroke, but repeat revascularization rates were lower for CABG (7.09% vs. 12.98%; p = 0.0007). After further adjustment with Cox proportional hazards models, there were still no significant differences in 3-year mortality rates (CABG and/or DES adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70 to 1.85) or mortality, MI, and/or stroke rates (AHR: 1.15; 95% CI: 0.76 to 1.73), and the repeat revascularization rate remained significantly lower for CABG patients (AHR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.36 to 0.81). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the higher rating in current guidelines of CABG (Class IIa vs. Class IIb) for patients with isolated PLAD disease, there were no differences in mortality or mortality, MI, and/or stroke, although CABG patients had significantly lower repeat revascularization rates.

Comparison of intermediate-term outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting versus drug-eluting stents for patients ≥75 years of age.

Several randomized controlled trials and observational studies have compared outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) with drug-eluting stents (DESs) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), but they have not thoroughly investigated the relative difference in outcomes for patients aged ≥75 years. In this study, a total of 3,864 patients receiving DES and CABG (1,932 CABG-DES pairs) with multivessel coronary disease were propensity matched using multiple patient risk factors and were compared with respect to 3 outcomes (mortality, stroke/myocardial infarction [MI]/mortality, and repeat revascularization) at 2.5 years with a mean follow-up of 18 months. The mortality rates (DES/CABG hazard ratio 1.06, 95% confidence interval 0.87 to 1.30) and the stroke/MI/mortality rates (DES/CABG hazard ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 0.97 to 1.38) for the 2 procedures were not significantly different. Repeat revascularization rates were significantly higher for patients who received DESs. In conclusion, older patients experienced similar mortality and stroke/MI/mortality rates for CABG and PCI with DES, although repeat revascularization rates were higher for patients undergoing PCI with DES.

Risk stratification for long-term mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: A simple risk score to predict long-term mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using preprocedural risk factors is currently not available. In this study, we created one by simplifying the results of a Cox proportional hazards model. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 11,897 patients who underwent PCI from October through December 2003 in New York State were randomly divided into derivation and validation samples. Patients' vital statuses were tracked using the National Death Index through the end of 2008. A Cox proportional hazards model was fit to predict death after PCI using the derivation sample, and a simplified risk score was created. The Cox model identified 12 separate risk factors for mortality including older age, extreme body mass indexes, multivessel disease, a lower ejection fraction, unstable hemodynamic state or shock, several comorbidities (cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, and renal failure), and a history of coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The C statistics of this model when applied to the validation sample were 0.787, 0.785, and 0.773 for risks of death within 1, 3, and 5 years after PCI, respectively. In addition, the point-based risk score demonstrated good agreement between patients' observed and predicted risks of death. CONCLUSIONS: A simple risk score created from a more complicated Cox proportional hazards model can be used to accurately predict a patient's risk of long-term mortality after PCI.

Appropriateness of coronary revascularization for patients without acute coronary syndromes.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine appropriateness of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery performed in New York for patients without acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or previous CABG surgery. BACKGROUND: The American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and 6 other societies recently published joint appropriateness criteria for coronary revascularization. METHODS: Data from patients who underwent CABG surgery and PCI without acute coronary syndrome or previous CABG surgery in New York in 2009 and 2010 were used to assess appropriateness and to examine the variation across hospitals in inappropriateness ratings. RESULTS: Of the 8,168 patients undergoing CABG surgery in New York without ACS/prior CABG who could be rated, 90.0% were appropriate for revascularization, 1.1% were inappropriate, and 8.6% were uncertain. Of the 33,970 PCI patients eligible for rating, 28% lacked sufficient information to be rated. Of the patients who could be rated, 36.1% were appropriate, 14.3% were inappropriate, and 49.6% were uncertain. A total of 91% of the patients undergoing PCI who were classified as inappropriate had 1- or 2-vessel disease without proximal left anterior descending artery disease and had no or minimal anti-ischemic medical therapy. CONCLUSIONS: For patients without ACS/prior CABG, only 1% of patients undergoing CABG surgery who could be rated were found to be inappropriate for the procedure according to the ACCF appropriateness criteria, but 14% of the PCI patients who could be rated were found to be inappropriate, and 28% lacked enough noninvasive test information to be rated.