Restoration of microcirculatory patency after myocardial infarction: results of current coronary interventional strategies and techniques.

We sought to evaluate the restoration of microcirculatory patency after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in an unselected cohort of patients at a tertiary center.We retrospectively evaluated distributions of the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) myocardial perfusion grade (TMPG) and the myocardial blush grade (MBG) in all primary PCI procedures performed at our institution during 2008. We defined optimal microvascular perfusion as simultaneous TMPG 3 and MBG 3 at procedure's end.Ninety-nine patients (mean age, 61.5 ± 12.7 yr; 64 men) underwent primary PCI. Microvascular perfusion was optimal in 69 patients (69.7%) and was associated with lower peaks of enzymes than those occurring in patients with suboptimal perfusion. When optimal microvascular perfusion was achieved, early spontaneous recanalization was more frequently observed, as expressed by a higher frequency of TIMI-3 flow (34.8% vs 10%; P=0.006), TMPG 3 (26% vs 3.3%; P=0.004), and MBG 3 (24.6% vs 3.3%; P=0.004) on the initial angiogram before primary PCI. A higher frequency of MBG 3 (50% vs 20%; P=0.005) was seen after initial recanalization in patients with optimal microvascular perfusion. Multiple regression analysis showed that MBG after initial recanalization and the use of drug-eluting stents were associated with optimal perfusion.Despite successful recanalization of the culprit coronary artery, optimal microvascular perfusion was achieved in less than 75% of the patients. Restoration of the microvasculature was associated with smaller infarcts. Procedure-related variables associated with suboptimal perfusion were unlikely to be causative.

Sirolimus-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents in routine clinical use: a nonrandomized comparison.

Conflicting patient outcomes have been reported after the use of sirolimus-eluting stents or bare-metal stents. In this nonrandomized study, we examine the outcomes after placement of sirolimus-eluting versus bare-metal stents in an unselected population of patients who underwent percutaneous coronary revascularization.We used THIRD-base, a longitudinal data registry of patients who underwent revascularization at our institution, to compare demographics and outcomes in patients treated with a sirolimus-eluting or bare-metal stent from January 2001 through June 2006. Outcome measures included major acute coronary and cerebral events at 30 days, target-vessel failure at 9 months and at 3 years, and stent thrombosis. Target-vessel failure was defined as the composite of all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction in the treated vessel distribution, and target-vessel revascularization. Logistic regression and Cox proportional regression models were used to determine the predictors of outcome.Of the 6,425 patients analyzed, 2,581 patients (40.2%) received only sirolimus-eluting stents, and 3,844 patients (59.8%) received only bare-metal stents. Early major acute coronary and cerebral events and stent thrombosis at 30 days and 9 months were similar in both groups. Target-vessel failure was less frequent in sirolimus-eluting stent patients than in bare-metal stent patients at 9 months (4.84% vs 11.81%, P < 0.0001) and at 3 years (29% vs 32%, P < 0.0001).Use of sirolimus-eluting stents improved target-vessel failure survival at 9 months and at 3 years. Late adverse events were determined by known risk factors for atherosclerosis, not by stent type.