An Observational Study Assessing the Predictors of Procedural Failure From the Radial Approach: Is Right Radial Access Always the Best?

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to determine the predictors of procedural failure (coronary cannulation) in patients undergoing coronary angiography ± percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from the transradial (TR) approach. METHODS: We conducted an observational study of 20,315 consecutive patients undergoing TR angiography between 2016 and 2020. TR failure was described as inability to cannulate the coronary arteries. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine independent predictors of TR failure. RESULTS: Out of the study population, TR failure was observed in 365 (1.8%) patients, out of which 281 (77%) crossed over successfully to the transfemoral (TF) route and 84 (23%) to left radial access (LRA). Unsuccessful procedures were most likely seen in patients who were elderly, female, BAME background, short stature or with a history of hypertension, diabetes, and renal disease. On regression analysis, age (OR: 1.024; 95% Cl: 1.014-1.035), female gender (OR: 0.729; 95% Cl: 0.555-0.957), BAME (OR: 0.786; 95% Cl: 0.612-0.959), height (OR: 0.988; 95% Cl: 0.977-0.999), hypertension (OR: 1.510; 95% Cl: 1.147-1.987) and RRA (OR: 1.977; 95% Cl: 1.105-3.538) were independent predictors of TR failure. On further analysis, these predictors of failure were not seen from the LRA approach. CONCLUSION: This study identifies that rates of TR failure are low and that predictors of failure differ between the RRA and LRA. The difference in predictors between the 2 routes suggests that in patients when coronary cannulation is unsuccessful via the RRA then the LRA could be considered as a second access site. Further study is needed to see if in selected patient groups the LRA could be used as the first-choice access route.

Validation of the CREST score for predicting circulatory-aetiology death in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest without STEMI.

AIMS: The CREST tool was recently developed to stratify the risk of circulatory-aetiology death (CED) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients without ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We aimed to validate the CREST score using an external cohort and determine whether it could be improved by the addition of serum lactate on admission. METHODS: The study involved the retrospective analysis of consecutive patients admitted to a single tertiary centre with OHCA of presumed cardiac origin over a 51-month period. The CREST score was calculated by attributing points to the following variables: Coronary artery disease (CAD), non-shockable Rhythm, Ejection fraction <30%, cardiogenic Shock at presentation and ischaemic Time ≥25 minutes. The primary endpoint was CED vs neurological aetiology death (NED) or survival. RESULTS: Of 500 patients admitted with OHCA, 211 did not meet criteria for STEMI and were included. 115 patients died in hospital (71 NED, 44 CED). When analysed individually, CED was associated with all CREST variables other than a previous diagnosis of CAD. The CREST score accurately predicted CED with excellent discrimination (C-statistic 0.880, 95% CI 0.813-0.946) and calibration (Hosmer and Lemeshow P=0.948). Although an admission lactate ≥7 mmol/L also predicted CED, its addition to the CREST score (the C-AREST score) did not significantly improve the predictive ability (CS 0.885, 0.815-0.954, HS P=0.942, X2 difference in -2 log likelihood =0.326, P=0.850). CONCLUSION: Our study is the first to independently validate the CREST score for predicting CED in patients presenting with OHCA without STEMI. Addition of lactate on admission did not improve its predictive ability.

An observational study assessing the impact of a cardiac arrest centre on patient outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major cause of death worldwide. Recent guidelines recommend the centralisation of OHCA services in cardiac arrest centres to improve outcomes. In 2015, two major tertiary cardiac centres in London merged to form a large dedicated tertiary cardiac centre. This study aimed to compare the short-term mortality of patients admitted with an OHCA before-and-after the merger of services had taken place and admission criteria were relaxed, which led to managing OHCA in higher volume. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed the data of OHCA patients pre- and post-merger. Baseline demographic and medical characteristics were recorded, along with factors relating to the cardiac arrest. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: OHCA patients (N =728; 267 pre- and 461 post-merger) between 2013 and 2018 were analysed. Patients admitted pre-merger were older (65.0 vs. 62.4 years, p=0.027), otherwise there were similar baseline demographic and peri-arrest characteristics. There was a greater proportion of non-acute coronary syndrome-related OHCA admission post-merger (10.1% vs. 23.4%, p=0.0001) and a corresponding decrease in those admitted with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (80.2% vs. 57.0%, p=0.0001) and those treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (78.8% vs. 54.0%, p=0.0001). Despite this, in-hospital mortality was lower post-merger (63.7% vs. 44.3%, p=0.0001), which persisted after adjustment for demographic and arrest-related characteristics using stepwise logistic regression (p=0.036) between the groups. CONCLUSION: Despite an increase in non-acute coronary syndrome-related OHCA cases, the formation of a centralised invasive heart centre was associated with improved survival in OHCA patients. This suggests there may be a benefit of a cardiac arrest centre model of care.

High Thrombus Burden in Patients With COVID-19 Presenting With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is thought to predispose patients to thrombotic disease. To date there are few reports of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) caused by type 1 myocardial infarction in patients with COVID-19. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe the demographic, angiographic, and procedural characteristics alongside clinical outcomes of consecutive cases of COVID-19-positive patients with STEMI compared with COVID-19-negative patients. METHODS: This was a single-center, observational study of 115 consecutive patients admitted with confirmed STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention at Barts Heart Centre between March 1, 2020, and May 20, 2020. RESULTS: Patients with STEMI presenting with concurrent COVID-19 infection had higher levels of troponin T and lower lymphocyte count, but elevated D-dimer and C-reactive protein. There were significantly higher rates of multivessel thrombosis, stent thrombosis, higher modified thrombus grade post first device with consequently higher use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors and thrombus aspiration. Myocardial blush grade and left ventricular function were significantly lower in patients with COVID-19 with STEMI. Higher doses of heparin to achieve therapeutic activated clotting times were also noted. Importantly, patients with STEMI presenting with COVID-19 infection had a longer in-patient admission and higher rates of intensive care admission. CONCLUSIONS: In patients presenting with STEMI and concurrent COVID-19 infection, there is a strong signal toward higher thrombus burden and poorer outcomes. This supports the need for establishing COVID-19 status in all STEMI cases. Further work is required to understand the mechanism of increased thrombosis and the benefit of aggressive antithrombotic therapy in selected cases.

Complete Versus Culprit only Revascularisation in Patients with Cardiogenic Shock Complicating Acute Myocardial Infarction: Incidence and Outcomes from the London Heart Attack Group.

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in technology, patients with Cardiogenic Shock (CS) presenting with ST-segment myocardial infarction (STEMI) still have a poor prognosis with high mortality rates. A large proportion of these patients have multi-vessel coronary artery disease, the treatment of which is still unclear. We aimed to assess the trends in management of CS patients with multi-vessel disease (MVD), particularly looking at the incidence and outcomes of complete revascularisation compared to culprit vessel only. METHODS AND RESULTS: We undertook an observational cohort study of 21,210 STEMI patients treated between 2005 and 2015 at the 8 Heart Attack Centres in London, UK. Patients' details were recorded prospectively into local databases using the British Cardiac Intervention Society (BCIS) PCI dataset. 1058 patients presented with CS and MVD. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Patients were followed-up for a median of 4.1 years (IQR range: 2.2-5.8 years). 497 (47.0%) patients underwent complete revascularisation during primary PCI for CS with stable rates seen over time. These patients were more likely to be male, hypertensive and more likely to have poor LV function compared to the culprit vessel intervention group. Although crude, in hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE) rates were similar (40.8% vs. 36.0%, p = 0.558) between the two groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated no significant differences in mortality rates between the two groups (53.8% complete revascularisation vs. 46.8% culprit vessel intervention, p = 0.252) during the follow-up period. After multivariate cox analysis (HR 0.69 95% CI (0.44-0.98)) and the use of propensity matching (HR: 0.81 95% CI: 0.62-0.97) complete revascularisation was associated with reduced mortality. A number of co-variates were included in the model, including age, gender, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, previous PCI, previous MI, chronic renal failure, Anterior infarct, number of treated vessels, pre-procedure TIMI flow, procedural success and GP IIb/IIIA use. CONCLUSION: In a contemporary observational series of CS patients with MVD, complete revascularisation appears to be associated with better outcomes compared to culprit vessel only intervention. This supports on-going clinical trials in this area and provides further evidence of the association of complete revascularisation in STEMI with good outcomes.

Routine use of fluoroscopic guidance and up-front femoral angiography results in reduced femoral complications in patients undergoing coronary angiographic procedures: an observational study using an Interrupted Time-Series analysis.

Transradial access is increasingly used for coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention, however, femoral access remains necessary for numerous procedures, including complex high-risk interventions, structural procedures, and procedures involving mechanical circulatory support. Optimising the safety of this approach is crucial to minimize costly and potentially life-threatening complications. We initiated a quality improvement project recommending routine fluoroscopic guidance (femoral head), and upfront femoral angiography should be performed to assess for location and immediate complications. We assessed the effect of these measures on the rate of vascular complications. Data were collected prospectively on 4534 consecutive patients undergoing femoral coronary angiographic procedures from 2015 to 2017. The primary end-point was any access complication. Outcomes were compared pre and post introduction including the use of an Interrupted Time-Series (ITS) analysis. 1890 patients underwent angiography prior to the introduction of routine fluoroscopy and upfront femoral angiography and 2644 post. All operators adopted these approaches. Baseline characteristics, including large sheath use, anticoagulant use and PCI rates were similar between the 2 groups. Fluoroscopy-enabled punctures were made in the 'safe zone' in over 91% of cases and upfront femoral angiography resulted in management changes i.e. procedural abandonment prior to heparin administration in 21 patients (1.1%). ITS analysis demonstrated evidence of a reduction in femoral complication rates after the introduction of the intervention, which was over and above the existing trend before the introduction (40% decrease RR 0.58; 95% CI: 0.25-0.87; P < 0.01). Overall these quality improvement measures were associated with a significantly lower incidence of access site complications (0.9% vs. 2.0%, P < 0.001). Routine fluoroscopy guided vascular access and upfront femoral angiography prior to anticoagulation leads to lower vascular complication rates. Thus, study shows that femoral intervention can be performed safely with very low access-related complication rates when fluoroscopic guidance and upfront angiography is used to obtain femoral arterial access.

Complete Versus Culprit-Only Lesion Intervention in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes.

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of patients presenting with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) present with multivessel disease (MVD). There is uncertainty in the role of complete coronary revascularization in this group of patients. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes of complete revascularization compared with culprit vessel-only intervention in a large contemporary cohort of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for NSTEMI. METHODS: The authors undertook an observational cohort study of 37,491 NSTEMI patients treated between 2005 and 2015 at the 8 heart attack centers in London. Clinical details were recorded at the time of the procedure into local databases using the British Cardiac Intervention Society (BCIS) PCI dataset. A total of 21,857 patients (58.3%) presented with NSTEMI and MVD. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality at a median follow-up of 4.1 years (interquartile range: 2.2 to 5.8 years). RESULTS: A total of 11,737 (53.7%) patients underwent single-stage complete revascularization during PCI for NSTEMI, rates that significantly increased during the study period (p = 0.006). Those patients undergoing complete revascularization were older and more likely to be male, diabetic, have renal disease and a history of previous myocardial infarction/revascularization compared with the culprit-only revascularization group. Although crude, in-hospital major adverse cardiac event rates were similar (5.2% vs. 4.8%; p = 0.462) between the 2 groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated significant differences in mortality rates between the 2 groups (22.5% complete revascularization vs. 25.9% culprit vessel intervention; p = 0.0005) during the follow-up period. After multivariate Cox analysis (hazard ratio: 0.90; 95% confidence interval: 0.85 to 0.97) and the use of propensity matching (hazard ratio: 0.89; 95% confidence interval: 0.76 to 0.98) complete revascularization was associated with reduced mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In NSTEMI patients with MVD, despite higher initial (in-hospital) mortality rates, single-stage complete coronary revascularization appears to be superior to culprit-only vessel PCI in terms of long-term mortality rates. This supports the need for further randomized study to confirm these findings.

Angiography Alone Versus Angiography Plus Optical Coherence Tomography to Guide Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Outcomes From the Pan-London PCI Cohort.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the effect on long-term survival of using optical coherence tomography (OCT) during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: Angiographic guidance for PCI has substantial limitations. The superior spatial resolution of OCT could translate into meaningful clinical benefits, although limited data exist to date about their effect on clinical endpoints. METHODS: This was a cohort study based on the Pan-London (United Kingdom) PCI registry, which includes 123,764 patients who underwent PCI in National Health Service hospitals in London between 2005 and 2015. Patients undergoing primary PCI or pressure wire use were excluded leaving 87,166 patients in the study. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality at a median of 4.8 years. RESULTS: OCT was used in 1,149 (1.3%) patients, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was used in 10,971 (12.6%) patients, and angiography alone in the remaining 75,046 patients. Overall OCT rates increased over time (p < 0.0001), with variation in rates between centers (p = 0.002). The mean stent length was shortest in the angiography-guided group, longer in the IVUS-guided group, and longest in the OCT-guided group. OCT-guided procedures were associated with greater procedural success rates and reduced in-hospital MACE rates. A significant difference in mortality was observed between patients who underwent OCT-guided PCI (7.7%) compared with patients who underwent either IVUS-guided (12.2%) or angiography-guided (15.7%; p < 0.0001) PCI, with differences seen for both elective (p < 0.0001) and acute coronary syndrome subgroups (p = 0.0024). Overall this difference persisted after multivariate Cox analysis (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26 to 0.81; p = 0.001) and propensity matching (hazard ratio: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.77; p = 0.0008; OCT vs. angiography-alone cohort), with no difference in matched OCT and IVUS cohorts (HR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.61 to 1.38; p = 0.43). CONCLUSIONS: In this large observational study, OCT-guided PCI was associated with improved procedural outcomes, in-hospital events, and long-term survival compared with standard angiography-guided PCI.

Outcomes after chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary interventions: an observational study of 5496 patients from the Pan-London CTO Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Chronic total occlusions (CTO) are commonly encountered in patients undergoing coronary angiography; however, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is infrequently performed owing to technical difficulty, the perceived risk of complications and a lack of randomized data. The aim of this study was to analyse the frequency and outcomes of CTO-PCI procedures in a large contemporary cohort of successive patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We undertook an observational cohort study of 48 234 patients with stable angina of which 5496 (11.4%) procedures were performed for CTOs between 2005 and 2015 at nine tertiary cardiac centres across London, UK. Outcome was assessed by in-hospital major adverse cardiac events and all-cause mortality at a median follow-up of 4.8 years (interquartile range: 2.2-6.4 years). RESULTS: Over time, there was an increase in the proportion of elective PCI procedures performed for CTOs, but no increase in the absolute number. Overall success rates increased over time (74.3% in 2005 to 81.5% in 2015; P=0.0003) despite an increase in case complexity (previous myocardial infarction, diabetes, renal failure, previous coronary artery bypass grafting, peripheral vascular disease and left ventricular impairment) that correlated with procedural advancements. Successful CTO PCI was associated with lower mortality [9.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 8.1-11.6 vs. 15.3%, 95% CI: 13.7-20.6, P<0.0001] that persisted after multivariate cox analysis (hazard ratio: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.25-0.62) and propensity matching (hazard ratio=0.36, 95% CI: 0.18-0.73, P=0.0005). CONCLUSION: Successful procedures were associated with lower mortality suggesting that the greater uptake of CTO PCI may improve clinical outcomes in a wider population than are currently being offered therapy.

Randomised trial of the comparison of drug-eluting stents in patients with diabetes: OCT DES trial.

Background: To date, there have been limited comparisons performed between everolimus-eluting stents (EES) and zotarolimus-eluting stents (ZES) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). The objectives of this study was to assess the use of second-generation drug-eluting stents in patients with DM, using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to compare the level of stent coverage of Boston Scientific Promus Element EES compared with Medtronic Resolute Integrity ZES.(Clinicaltrials.gov number NCT02060357). Methods: This is a single-centre randomised blinded trials assessing two commercially available stents in 60 patients with diabetes (ZES: n=30, EES: n=30). Patients underwent intracoronary assessment at 6 months with OCT assessing stent coverage, malapposition, neointimal thickness and percentage of in-stent restenosis (ISR). Results: Of the 60 patients randomised, 46 patients underwent OCT analysis. There was no difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups. Both Promus Element and Resolute Integrity had low rates of uncovered struts at 6 months with no significant difference between the two groups (2.44% vs 1.24%, respectively; P=0.17). Rates of malapposition struts (3.9% vs 2.5%, P=0.25) and percentage of luminal loss did not differ between stent types. In addition, there was no significant difference in major adverse cardiovascular events (P=0.24) between the stent types. Conclusions: This study is the first randomised trial to evaluate OCT at 6 months for ZES and EES in patients with diabetes. Both stents showed comparable strut coverage at 6 months, with no difference in ISR rates at 6 months.

Contemporary trends in cardiogenic shock: Incidence, intra-aortic balloon pump utilisation and outcomes from the London Heart Attack Group.

BACKGROUND: Cardiogenic shock remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. We aimed to assess the current trends in cardiogenic shock management, looking specifically at the incidence, use of intra-aortic balloon pump therapy and outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention. METHODS AND RESULTS: We undertook an observational cohort study of 21,210 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients treated between 2005-2015 at the eight Heart Attack Centres in London, UK. Patients' details were recorded at the time of the procedure into local databases using the British Cardiac Intervention Society percutaneous coronary intervention dataset. There were 1890 patients who presented with cardiogenic shock. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at a median follow-up of 4.1 years (interquartile range: 2.2-5.8 years). Increasing rates of cardiogenic shock were seen over the course of the study with consistently high mortality rates of 45-70%. A total of 685 patients underwent intra-aortic balloon pump insertion during primary percutaneous coronary intervention for cardiogenic shock with decreasing rates over time. Those patients undergoing intra-aortic balloon pump therapy were younger, more likely to have poor left ventricular function and less likely to have had previous percutaneous coronary intervention compared to the control group. Procedural success rates were similar (86.0% vs 87.1%, p=0.292) although crude, in-hospital major adverse cardiac event rates were higher (43.8% vs 33.7%, p<0.0001) in patients undergoing intra-aortic balloon pump therapy. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated significantly higher mortality rates in patients receiving intra-aortic balloon pump therapy (50.9% intra-aortic balloon pump vs 39.9% control, p<0.0001) during the follow-up period. After multivariate Cox analysis (hazard ratio 1.04, 95% confidence interval 0.62-1.89) and the use of propensity matching (hazard ratio: 1.29, 95% confidence interval: 0.68-1.45) intra-aortic balloon pump therapy was not associated with mortality. CONCLUSION: Cardiogenic shock treated by percutaneous coronary intervention is increasing in incidence and remains a condition associated with high mortality and limited treatment options. Intra-aortic balloon pump therapy was not associated with a long-term survival benefit in this cohort and may be associated with increased early morbidity.

Risk scoring to guide antiplatelet therapy post-percutaneous coronary intervention for acute coronary syndrome results in improved clinical outcomes.

Aims: To use the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) and Can Rapid risk stratification of Unstable angina patients Suppress ADverse outcomes with Early implementation of the ACC/AHA guidelines (CRUSADE) scores to risk stratify antiplatelet treatment post-acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods and results: This was a prospective registry of 3374 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for ACS between 2013 and 2015 at a UK cardiac centre. Patients with either low GRACE or high CRUSADE risk scores were stratified either to clopidogrel therapy or ticagrelor was used. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or target vessel revascularization with bleeding rates as a secondary outcome, assessed at a median follow-up of 1.8 years (interquartile range 0.8-3.4 years). A total of 1723 (51.1%) patients were risk stratified to either clopidogrel (n = 520) or ticagrelor treatment (n = 1203), with the remaining 1651 not risk scored and treated with clopidogrel therapy. Patients in the risk score stratified group were older than the control group otherwise the groups were similar. Over the follow-up period, a significant reduction in MACE rates between the patients' risk score stratified and control (clopidogrel therapy) (13.7% vs. 19.7%, P < 0.0001) was seen [hazard ratio (HR) 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.31-0.86]. This persisted after adjusting for baseline variables (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.37-0.89) and propensity matching (HR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.27-0.93; P = 0.0015) No significant differences in the rate of major bleeding were seen between the groups (5.3% vs. 5.1%, P = 0.86). In the risk-stratified group, no difference in outcome (ischaemic/bleeding) was seen between clopidogrel and ticagrelor. Conclusion: Our registry data suggest that using appropriate risk scoring to guide antiplatelet therapy after ACS is safe and can result in improved clinical outcomes.

Prevalence and outcomes of coronary artery perforation during percutaneous coronary intervention.

AIMS: We aimed to examine the prevalence, clinical outcomes and procedural characteristics of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) complicated by coronary artery perforation (CAP) in a contemporary patient population. METHODS AND RESULTS: Procedural records of 39,115 patients undergoing PCI between 2005 and 2016 were reviewed. CAP affected 149 cases (0.37%). The prevalence of CAP increased from 0.31% in 2005 to 0.45% in 2016 (p=0.03), reflecting an increase in more complex PCI (from 14% in 2005 to 21% in 2016; p<0.0001). CAP was associated with increased all-cause mortality (23.1% vs. 9.4% in those without perforation; p=0.0054) and was an independent predictor of mortality (HR 2.55; 95% CI: 1.34-4.78). In-patient mortality was 4% (6/149). In 43 of 149 (28.9%) cases, a significant pericardial effusion ensued and mortality rates were higher in this subgroup. Thirty-one patients had covered stents (CS) inserted and five did not survive to discharge. Of the 26 patients with a CS who survived to hospital discharge, six (23.1%) had definite stent thrombosis, and two (7.7%) had possible/probable stent thrombosis. CONCLUSIONS: CAP remains uncommon but the prevalence is increasing. CAP is associated with significant short- and long-term mortality, particularly when there is haemodynamic compromise necessitating pericardiocentesis. Covered stents are a valuable tool but they are associated with a high risk of stent thrombosis.

Drug-eluting stents appear superior to bare metal stents for vein-graft PCI in vessels up to a stent diameter of 4 mm.

BACKGROUND: Research trials have shown improved short-term outcome with drug-eluting stents (DES) over bare metal stents (BMS) in saphenous vein graft (SVG) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), primarily by reducing target vessel revascularization (TVR) for in-stent restenosis. We compared the outcomes in patients undergoing SVG stent implantation treated with DES or BMS. In exploratory analyses we investigated the influence of stent generation and diameter. METHODS: Data were obtained from a prospective database of 657 patients who underwent PCI for SVG lesions between 2003 and 2011. A total of 344 patients had PCI with BMS and 313 with DES. Propensity scores were developed based on 15 observed baseline covariates in a logistic regression model with stent type as the dependent variable. The nearest-neighbour-matching algorithm with Greedy 5-1 Digit Matching was used to produce two patient cohorts of 313 patients each. We assessed major adverse cardiac events (MACE) out to a median of 3.3 years (interquartile range: 2.1-4.1). MACE was defined as all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), TVR and stroke. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in MACE between the two groups in favour of DES (17.9% DES vs. 31.2% BMS group; p = 0.0017) over the 5-year follow-up period. MACE was driven by increased TVR in the BMS group. There was no difference in death, MI or stroke. Adjusted Cox analysis confirmed a decreased risk of MACE for DES compared with BMS 0.75 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.52-0.94), with no difference in the hazard of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.77-1.68). However, when looking at stent diameters greater than 4 mm, no difference was seen in MACE rates between BMS and DES. CONCLUSIONS: Overall in our cohort of patients who had PCI for SVG disease, DES use resulted in lower MACE rates compared with BMS over a 5-year follow-up period; however, for stent diameters over 4 mm no difference in MACE rates was seen.

Outcome of 1051 Octogenarian Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Treated With Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Observational Cohort From the London Heart Attack Group.

BACKGROUND: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is increasingly common in octogenarians, and optimal management in this cohort is uncertain. This study aimed to describe the outcomes of octogenarians with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed 10 249 consecutive patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention between 2005 and 2011 at 8 tertiary cardiac centers across London, United Kingdom. The primary end point was all-cause mortality at a median follow-up of 3 years. In total, 1051 patients (10.3%) were octogenarians, with an average age of 84.2 years, and the proportion increased over the study period (P=0.04). In-hospital mortality (7.7% vs 2.4%, P<0.0001) and long-term mortality (51.6% vs 12.8%, P<0.0001) were increased in octogenarians compared with patients aged <80 years, and age was an independent predictor of mortality in a fully adjusted model (hazard ratio 1.07, 95% CI 1.07-1.09, P<0.0001). Time-stratified analysis revealed an increasingly elderly and more complex cohort over time. Nonetheless, long-term mortality rates among octogenarians remained static over time, and this may be attributable to improved percutaneous coronary intervention techniques, including significantly higher rates of radial access and lower bleeding complications. Variables associated with bleeding complications were similar between octogenarian and younger cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: In this large registry, octogenarians undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention had a higher rate of complications and mortality compared with a younger population. Over time, octogenarians undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention increased in number, age, and complexity. Nevertheless, in-hospital outcomes were reasonable, and long-term mortality rates were static.

Controversies Surrounding Renal Denervation: Lessons Learned From Real-World Experience in Two United Kingdom Centers.

Renal denervation (RDN) is a therapy that targets treatment-resistant hypertension (TRH). The Renal Denervation in Patients With Uncontrolled Hypertension (Symplicity) HTN-1 and Symplicity HTN-2 trials reported response rates of >80%; however, sham-controlled Symplicity HTN-3 failed to reach its primary blood pressure (BP) outcome. The authors address the current controversies surrounding RDN, illustrated with real-world data from two centers in the United Kingdom. In this cohort, 52% of patients responded to RDN, with a 13±32 mm Hg reduction in office systolic BP (SBP) at 6 months (n=29, P=.03). Baseline office SBP and number of ablations correlated with office SBP reduction (R=-0.47, P=.01; R=-0.56, P=.002). RDN appears to be an effective treatment for some patients with TRH; however, individual responses are highly variable. Selecting patients for RDN is challenging, with only 10% (33 of 321) of the screened patients eligible for the study. Medication alterations and nonadherence confound outcomes. Adequate ablation is critical and should impact future catheter design/training. Markers of procedural success and improved patient selection parameters remain key research aims.

Atypical risk factor profile and excellent long-term outcomes of young patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have examined the relationship between age and clinical outcomes in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). The majority of studies have concentrated on describing elderly patients and there has been less focus on the profile and outcome of young patients suffering from STEMI. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical profile and outcomes of young patients compared with an older cohort and to establish what risk factors were associated with young patients having PPCI for STEMI. METHODS: This was an observational cohort study of 3618 patients with STEMI treated by PPCI at a regional heart attack centre in London between January 2004 and September 2012. Clinical characteristics and outcomes in (young) patients aged ≤ 45 years were compared with those in (older) patients aged >45 years. The primary and main secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular event rates, respectively, at a median follow-up of 3.0 (interquartile range 1.2-4.6) years. RESULTS: Of the 3618 patients, 367 (10.1%) were aged ≤ 45 years and 3251 (89.9%) were aged >45 years. The proportion of patients aged ≤ 45 years increased from 8.5% to 11.5% (p=0.04) during the study period. Compared with older patients, those aged ≤ 45 years were more likely to be male, smokers, of South Asian ethnicity and to have a family history of premature coronary artery disease. Young patients were less likely to have a history of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes mellitus, previous myocardial infarction, myocardial revascularisation, or to have left ventricular systolic impairment or renal impairment. Over the follow-up period, mortality (2.7% vs. 7.6%; p<0.0001) and major adverse cardiovascular event rates (7.0% vs. 13.5%; p<0.0001) were significantly lower in patients aged ≤ 45 years compared with older patients. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, young age remained a predictor of reduced all cause mortality when compared with older patients (hazard ratio 0.12 (95% confidence interval 0.04-0.38)), including after incorporation of a propensity score (hazard ratio: 0.14 (95% confidence interval 0.04-0.36)). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of patients with STEMI treated by PPCI there was an increasing incidence of young patients aged ≤ 45 years throughout the study period. These patients were more often male, smokers and of South Asian ethnicity. Outcomes in younger patients was good. Focusing preventative strategies on smokers and high risk ethnic groups may help reduce the incidence of premature coronary artery disease.

Manual Thrombus Aspiration Is Not Associated With Reduced Mortality in Patients Treated With Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: An Observational Study of 10,929 Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction From the London Heart Attack Group.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the impact of thrombus aspiration on mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: The clinical effect of routine intracoronary thrombus aspiration before primary PCI in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is uncertain. METHODS: We undertook an observational cohort study of 10,929 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients from January 2005 to July 2011 at 8 centers across London, United Kingdom. Patients' details were recorded at the time of the procedure into local databases using the British Cardiac Intervention Society PCI dataset. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality at a median follow-up of 3.0 years (interquartile range: 1.2 to 4.6 years). RESULTS: In our cohort, 3,572 patients (32.7%) underwent thrombus aspiration during primary PCI. Patients who had thrombus aspiration were younger, had lower rates of previous myocardial infarction but were more likely to have poor left ventricular function. Procedural success rates were higher (90.9% vs. 89.2%; p=0.005) and in-hospital major adverse cardiac event rates were lower (4.4% vs. 5.5%; p=0.012) in patients undergoing thrombus aspiration. However, Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated no significant difference in mortality rates between patients with and without thrombus aspiration (14.8% aspiration vs. 15.3% PCI only; p=0.737) during the follow-up period. After multivariate Cox analysis (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65 to 1.23) and the addition of propensity matching (HR: 0.85 95% CI: 0.60 to 1.20) thrombus aspiration was still not associated with decreased mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of nearly 11,000 patients, routine thrombus aspiration was not associated with a reduction in long-term mortality in patients undergoing primary PCI, although procedural success and in-hospital major adverse cardiac event rates were improved.

The impact of socio-economic status on all-cause mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention: an observational cohort study of 13,770 patients.

AIMS: The relation between socio-economic status (SES) and outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been established. We sought to determine whether or not socio-economic status impacts on prognosis after PCI. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was an observational cohort study of 13,770 consecutive patients who underwent PCI at a single centre between 2005 and 2011. Patient socio-economic status was defined by the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) score, according to residential postcode. Patients were analysed by quintile of IMD score (Q1, least deprived; Q5, most deprived). Median follow-up was 3.7 (IQR: 2.0-5.1) years and the primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Patients in Q5 (most deprived) were younger, more commonly South Asian, and had higher rates of smoking, diabetes mellitus, renal impairment, previous MI, and previous PCI than patients in Q1. Rates of long-term mortality increased progressively across the five quintiles of IMD score in a linear fashion (p=0.0004), as did rates of recurrent MI, target vessel revascularisation, and CABG. The difference in mortality rates persisted after adjustment for other potential confounding factors after multivariate analysis (Q5 vs. Q1: HR 1.93, 95% CI: 1.38-2.69). CONCLUSIONS: In this large contemporary cohort of patients receiving PCI, socio-economic status was associated with prognosis in a linear fashion.

Long-term survival in patients undergoing percutaneous interventions with or without intracoronary pressure wire guidance or intracoronary ultrasonographic imaging: a large cohort study.

IMPORTANCE: Intracoronary pressure wire-derived measurements of fractional flow reserve (FFR) and intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) provide functional and anatomical information that can be used to guide coronary stent implantation. Although these devices are widely used and recommended by guidelines, limited data exist about their effect on clinical end points. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect on long-term survival of using FFR and IVUS during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). DESIGN AND SETTING: Cohort study based on the pan-London (United Kingdom) PCI registry. In total, 64,232 patients are included in this registry covering the London, England, area. PARTICIPANTS: All patients (n = 41,688) who underwent elective or urgent PCI in National Health Service hospitals in London between January 1, 2004, and July 31, 2011, were included. Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (n = 11,370) were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: Patients underwent PCI guided by angiography (visual lesion assessment) alone, PCI guided by FFR, or IVUS-guided PCI. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary end point was all-cause mortality at a median of 3.3 years. RESULTS: Fractional flow reserve was used in 2767 patients (6.6%) and IVUS was used in 1831 patients (4.4%). No difference in mortality was observed between patients who underwent angiography-guided PCI compared with patients who underwent FFR-guided PCI (hazard ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.67-1.16; P = .37). Patients who underwent IVUS had a slightly higher adjusted mortality (hazard ratio, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.09-1.78; P = .009) compared with patients who underwent angiography-guided PCI. However, this difference was no longer statistically significant in a propensity score-based analysis (hazard ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.85-2.09; P = .25). The mean (SD) number of implanted stents was lower in the FFR group (1.1 [1.2] stents) compared with the IVUS group (1.6 [1.3]) and the angiography-guided group (1.7 [1.1]) (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this large observational study, FFR-guided PCI and IVUS-guided PCI were not associated with improved long-term survival compared with standard angiography-guided PCI. The use of FFR was associated with the implantation of fewer stents.