Association between type D personality and in-stent restenosis in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention: A mediation analysis of dietary patterns.

OBJECTIVE: Type D personality is a psychosocial risk factor for cardiovascular events and in-stent restenosis (ISR), but the mechanisms involved are not well understood. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary patterns on the association between Type D personality and ISR in patients with coronary artery disease treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: This cross-sectional study comprised a total of 230 post-PCI patients who were assessed for Type D personality, depression, dietary patterns, physical activity and medication adherence via self-administered questionnaires. ISR was assessed by coronary angiography. RESULTS: Type D personality (odds ratio [OR], 3.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-10.71, p=0.042), low fruit intake (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.12-0.68, p=0.008) and low vegetable intake (OR, 0.48, 95% CI, 0.27-0.91, p=0.021) were independent risk factors for ISR after adjustment for psychosocial, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors. Mediation analyses revealed that Type D personality had a significant direct effect on the development of ISR (p<0.05). In addition, nutrients in fruits and vegetables, including vitamin C, vitamin E and fiber, were important mediators of the relationship between Type D personality and ISR (p<0.05), the percentage of total indirect effect was 24.65%. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggested that the low intake of fruit and vegetables in Type D patients can predict ISR. The healthy dietary interventions to supply vitamin C, vitamin E and fiber may help to improve the prognosis in post-PCI patients with Type D personality.

The disutility of restenosis--the impact of repeat percutaneous coronary intervention on quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with coronary stenting is a common medical procedure that is used to treat the symptoms of both stable angina and acute coronary syndromes. Drugeluting stents (DES) decrease restenosis and repeat revascularization procedures but are more expensive than bare-metal stents. A proper cost-effectiveness analysis of DES requires an understanding of the health value patients place on the avoidance of restenosis accompanied by a repeat PCI. OBJECTIVE: To estimate quality-of-life (QoL) benefits ascribed to avoiding the return of coronary symptoms and the need for a repeat revascularization procedure. METHODS: A prospective, single-centre study was conducted involving PCI patients. A time trade-off (TTO) question, based on a hypothetical restricted lifespan of 10 years, was used to estimate the QoL benefits patients attach to the avoidance of recurrent symptoms and a repeat PCI. This was accomplished by interviewing the patients by telephone, two weeks post-PCI. The TTO question was also administered to the catheterization laboratory staff. RESULTS: Between January and March 2007, and between April and June 2008, 103 interviews were completed. The median TTO was zero weeks (interquartile range zero to 1.7 weeks). Six interventional cardiologists and eight cardiac catheterization nurses reported a similar median disutility. CONCLUSION: Despite acknowledgement of the substantial clinical benefits of DES, the results of the present study suggest that patients do not place a great disutility on avoiding restenosis, thereby providing little QoL justification for the large incremental cost associated with this technology.

Relationship of genetic variability and depressive symptoms to adverse events after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To assess genetic variability in two serotonin-related gene polymorphisms (MAOA-uVNTR and 5HTTLPR) and their relationships to depression and adverse cardiac events in a sample of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. METHODS: A total of 427 coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients were genotyped for two polymorphisms and assessed for depressive symptoms at three time points, in accordance with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D): preoperative baseline; 6 months postoperative; and 1 year postoperative. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between depressive symptoms (CES-D = >16), genotype differences, and cardiac events. Because MAOA-uVNTR is sex-linked, males and females were analyzed separately for this polymorphism; sexes were combined for the 5HTTLPR analysis. RESULTS: Depressed patients were more likely than nondepressed patients to have a new cardiac event within 2 years of surgery (p < .0001); depressed patients who carry the long (L) allele of the 5HTTLPR polymorphism were more likely than the short/short (S/S carriers to have an event (p = .0002). Genetic associations with 6-month and 1-year postoperative depressive symptoms do not survive adjustment for baseline depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: A serotonin-related gene polymorphism--5HTTLPR--was associated with adverse cardiac events post CABG, in combination with depressive symptoms. Because depressed patients with the L allele of the 5HTTLPR polymorphism were more likely to have an event compared with the S/S carriers, combining genetic and psychiatric profiling may prove useful in identifying patients at the highest risk for adverse outcomes post CABG.

Reduced positive affect (anhedonia) predicts major clinical events following implantation of coronary-artery stents.

OBJECTIVE: Emotional distress has been related to clinical events in patients with coronary artery disease, but the influence of positive affect (i.e. mood states such as activity, joy and cheerfulness) has received little attention. Therefore, we wanted to investigate the role of positive affect on clinical outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent implantation in these patients. DESIGN: Prospective follow-up study. At baseline, patients from the Rapamycin-Eluting Stent Evaluated At Rotterdam Cardiology Hospital (RESEARCH) registry completed measures of positive affect, depression and anxiety post-PCI. Patients with reduced positive affect scored 1 SD below the mean score. SETTING: University Hospital; Thoraxcenter of the Department of Cardiology. SUBJECTS: 874 patients (72% men; 62.2 +/- 10.9 years) from the RESEARCH registry. Main outcome measure. Death or myocardial infarction (MI) 2 years post-PCI. RESULTS: At follow-up, there were 52 clinical events (deaths n = 27, MIs n = 25). Reduced positive affect and depression/anxiety were associated with poor prognosis, but reduced positive affect was the only independent predictor of events. The incidence of death/MI in adequate versus reduced positive affect patients was 4% (29/663) vs. 11% (23/211); HR = 2.55 (95% CI 1.46-4.34, P = 0.001), adjusting for clinical variables. Reduced positive affect and diabetes were independent prognostic factors, and patients with one (HR = 2.84, 95% CI 1.58-5.10) or both (HR = 5.61, 95% CI 2.25-13.99) of these factors had a higher risk when compared with nondiabetic patients with adequate positive affect, P < or = 0.003. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced positive affect independently predicted death/MI following stent implantation, and improved risk stratification above and beyond diabetes.

Impaired health status in Type D patients following PCI in the drug-eluting stent era.

BACKGROUND: Drug-eluting stenting reduces restenosis post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but subgroups of patients may not benefit optimally from this procedure. We examined the impact of Type D personality on health status over time and the clinical relevance of Type D as a predictor of impaired health status at 12 months in unselected post-PCI patients. METHODS: Consecutive patients (n=692) participating in the Rapamycin-Eluting Stent Evaluated At Rotterdam Cardiology Hospital (RESEARCH) registry completed the Type D Scale at 6 months and the Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36) at 6 and 12 months post-PCI. RESULTS: Although there was a significant improvement in health status over time (p<0.001), Type D patients reported a substantially lower score on all health status domains of the SF-36 compared with non-Type D patients (p<0.001). Type D personality was an independent predictor of impaired health status on all SF-36 sub domains at 12 months except for physical functioning, adjusting for baseline demographic and clinical variables and health status at 6 months. In these adjusted analyses, Type D personality increased the likelihood of impaired health status at 12 months post-PCI from 60% (OR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.04-2.46) to almost 300% (OR: 3.99; 95% CI: 2.52-6.32), varying among the parameters analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: Type D personality was associated with impaired health status in post-PCI patients treated in the drug-eluting stent era. The role of personality factors as determinants of clinical outcome and health status should not be overlooked as these factors may have much explanatory power.

Restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI): experiences from the patients' perspective.

BACKGROUND: PCI has been established as an effective treatment for coronary artery disease. Restenosis is a recurrence of a significant narrowing in the treated vessel. Although a part of the investigative and research funding is invested in the prevention and resolving the restenosis problem, little is known about its clinical significance apart from further revascularisation. AIM: The intention of this study was to clarify the patients perspective of what it means to suffer from documented restenosis after PCI. METHOD: Patients interviewed had undergone PCI. Data collection and analysis was done simultaneously according to Grounded Theory methodology and continued until new interviews provided no additional information. RESULTS: "Living with uncertainty" was identified as the core category, and the central focus in the data explains what it means to patients' to suffer from restenosis. The core category was further illuminated in four additional categories labelled "fighting for access to care", "moderating health threats", "trying to understand" and "controlling relatives anxiety". CONCLUSION: Patients' perceptions of illness and illness-related events, such as symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, are considerably affected by uncertainty. This infiltrates their struggle to acquire the care needed, their endeavour to comprehend and moderate health threats, and caring for their family.

Comparison of quality of life after repeat versus initial coronary artery bypass grafting.

One-year health status improvements in 62 patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were compared with those of 628 patients undergoing initial CABG using the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ). Adjusted analyses revealed that repeat CABG conferred similar 1-year improvements in health status compared with patients undergoing a first CABG (changes in SAQ Physical Limitation score [SAQ-PL: repeat CABG 25 +/- 27 vs first CABG 20 +/- 27; p = 0.30], Quality of Life score [SAQ-QoL: 34 +/- 24 vs 35 +/- 5; p = 0.87], and Angina Frequency score (SAQ-AF: 35 +/- 40 vs 25 +/- 24; p = 0.03]).