Preventive percutaneous coronary intervention versus optimal medical therapy alone for the treatment of vulnerable atherosclerotic coronary plaques (PREVENT): a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndrome and sudden cardiac death are often caused by rupture and thrombosis of lipid-rich atherosclerotic coronary plaques (known as vulnerable plaques), many of which are non-flow-limiting. The safety and effectiveness of focal preventive therapy with percutaneous coronary intervention of vulnerable plaques in reducing adverse cardiac events are unknown. We aimed to assess whether preventive percutaneous coronary intervention of non-flow-limiting vulnerable plaques improves clinical outcomes compared with optimal medical therapy alone. METHODS: PREVENT was a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial done at 15 research hospitals in four countries (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and New Zealand). Patients aged 18 years or older with non-flow-limiting (fractional flow reserve >0·80) vulnerable coronary plaques identified by intracoronary imaging were randomly assigned (1:1) to either percutaneous coronary intervention plus optimal medical therapy or optimal medical therapy alone, in block sizes of 4 or 6, stratified by diabetes status and the performance of percutaneous coronary intervention in a non-study target vessel. Follow-up continued annually in all enrolled patients until the last enrolled patient reached 2 years after randomisation. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiac causes, target-vessel myocardial infarction, ischaemia-driven target-vessel revascularisation, or hospitalisation for unstable or progressive angina, assessed in the intention-to-treat population at 2 years. Time-to-first-event estimates were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared with the log-rank test. This report is the principal analysis from the trial and includes all long-term analysed data. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02316886, and is complete. FINDINGS: Between Sept 23, 2015, and Sept 29, 2021, 5627 patients were screened for eligibility, 1606 of whom were enrolled and randomly assigned to percutaneous coronary intervention (n=803) or optimal medical therapy alone (n=803). 1177 (73%) patients were men and 429 (27%) were women. 2-year follow-up for the primary outcome assessment was completed in 1556 (97%) patients (percutaneous coronary intervention group n=780; optimal medical therapy group n=776). At 2 years, the primary outcome occurred in three (0·4%) patients in the percutaneous coronary intervention group and in 27 (3·4%) patients in the medical therapy group (absolute difference -3·0 percentage points [95% CI -4·4 to -1·8]; p=0·0003). The effect of preventive percutaneous coronary intervention was directionally consistent for each component of the primary composite outcome. Serious clinical or adverse events did not differ between the percutaneous coronary intervention group and the medical therapy group: at 2 years, four (0·5%) versus ten (1·3%) patients died (absolute difference -0·8 percentage points [95% CI -1·7 to 0·2]) and nine (1·1%) versus 13 (1·7%) patients had myocardial infarction (absolute difference -0·5 percentage points [-1·7 to 0·6]). INTERPRETATION: In patients with non-flow-limiting vulnerable coronary plaques, preventive percutaneous coronary intervention reduced major adverse cardiac events arising from high-risk vulnerable plaques, compared with optimal medical therapy alone. Given that PREVENT is the first large trial to show the potential effect of the focal treatment for vulnerable plaques, these findings support consideration to expand indications for percutaneous coronary intervention to include non-flow-limiting, high-risk vulnerable plaques. FUNDING: The CardioVascular Research Foundation, Abbott, Yuhan Corp, CAH-Cordis, Philips, and Infraredx, a Nipro company.

Impact of proton pump inhibitor use on clinical outcomes in East Asian patients receiving clopidogrel following drug-eluting stent implantation.

BACKGROUND: Concomitant use of clopidogrel and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is common, but PPI may reduce the antiplatelet effects of clopidogrel in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We evaluated the impact of PPI use on clinical outcomes in post-PCI patients, by incorporating P2Y12 reaction unit (PRU) and CYP2C19 genotyping results. METHODS: From a multicenter registry of patients who underwent PCI with drug-eluting stent implantation and received clopidogrel-based dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), patients who were prescribed a PPI at the time of PCI (PPI users) were compared to those who were not (non-users). The primary outcome included all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, or cerebrovascular accident at 12 months. Major bleeding (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium [BARC] types 3-5) and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding (BARC types 3-5) were important secondary outcomes. The adjusted outcomes were compared using a 1:1 propensity-score (PS) matching and competing risk analysis. RESULTS: Of 13,160 patients, 2,235 (17.0%) were prescribed PPI, with an average age of 65.4 years. PPI users had higher on-treatment PRU levels than non-users. After PS matching, the primary outcome occurred in 51 patients who were PPI users (cumulative incidence, 4.7%) and 41 patients who were non-users (cumulative incidence, 3.7%; log-rank p = 0.27). In carriers of both CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles, PPI use was linked to an increased risk of the primary outcome (hazard ratio, 3.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-8.78). The incidence of major bleeding and GI bleeding (BARC types 3-5) was comparable between PPI users and non-users in the PS-matched cohort. CONCLUSIONS: In post-PCI patients receiving clopidogrel-based DAPT, PPI use was not linked to an increased risk of adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events, but there was a small but significant increase in on-treatment PRU. Future research using a more individualized approach would further elucidate these interactions and guide evidence-based clinical practices.

Preventive PCI or medical therapy alone for vulnerable atherosclerotic coronary plaque: Rationale and design of the randomized, controlled PREVENT trial.

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndromes are commonly caused by the rupture of vulnerable plaque, which often appear angiographically not severe. Although pharmacologic management is considered standard therapy for stabilizing plaque vulnerability, the potential role of preventive local treatment for vulnerable plaque has not yet been determined. The PREVENT trial was designed to compare preventive percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) plus optimal medical therapy (OMT) with OMT alone in patients with functionally nonsignificant high-risk vulnerable plaques. METHODS: The PREVENT trial is a multinational, multicenter, prospective, open-label, active-treatment-controlled randomized trial. Eligible patients have at least 1 angiographically significant stenosis (diameter stenosis >50% by visual estimation) without functional significance (fractional flow reserve [FFR] >0.80). Target lesions are assessed by intracoronary imaging and must meet at least 2 imaging criteria for vulnerable plaque; (1) minimal lumen area <4.0 mm2; (2) plaque burden >70%; (3) maximal lipid core burden index in a 4 mm segment >315 by near infrared spectroscopy; and (4) thin cap fibroatheroma as determined by virtual histology or optical coherence tomography. Enrolled patients are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either preventive PCI with either bioabsorbable vascular scaffolds or metallic everolimus-eluting stents plus OMT or OMT alone. The primary endpoint is target-vessel failure, defined as the composite of death from cardiac causes, target-vessel myocardial infarction, ischemic-driven target-vessel revascularization, or hospitalization for unstable or progressive angina, at 2 years after randomization. RESULTS: Enrollment of a total of 1,608 patients has been completed. Follow-up of the last enrolled patient will be completed in September 2023 and primary results are expected to be available in early 2024. CONCLUSIONS: The PREVENT trial is the first large-scale, randomized trial to evaluate the effect of preventive PCI on non-flow-limiting vulnerable plaques containing multiple high-risk features that is appropriately powered for clinical outcomes. PREVENT will provide compelling evidence as to whether preventive PCI of vulnerable plaques plus OMT improves patient outcomes compared with OMT alone. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov. Unique identifier: NCT02316886. KEY POINTS: The PREVENT trial is the first, large-scale randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effect of preventive PCI on non-flow-limiting vulnerable plaque with high-risk features. It will provide compelling evidence to determine whether PCI of focal vulnerable plaques on top of OMT improves patient outcomes.

Clinical Implication of 'Obesity Paradox' in Elderly Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: The clinical impact of body mass index (BMI), especially in the elderly with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), has not been sufficiently evaluated. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the clinical impact of BMI in very old patients (≥80 years) with AMI. METHODS: The study analysed 2,489 AMI patients aged ≥80 years from the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry and the Korea Working Group on Myocardial Infarction (KAMIR/KorMI) registries between November 2005 and March 2012. The study population was categorised into four groups based on their BMI: underweight (n=301), normal weight (n=1,150), overweight (n=890), and obese (n=148). The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularisation, and target vessel revascularisation. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics among the four groups were similar, except for hypertension (45.1 vs 58.4 vs 66.2 vs 69.9%, respectively; p<0.001) and diabetes (16.6 vs 23.6 vs 30.7 vs 35.1%, respectively; p<0.001). Coronary care unit length of stay was significantly different among the four groups during hospitalisation (5.3±5.9 vs 4.8±6.8 vs 4.2±4.0 vs 3.5±2.1 days; p=0.007). MACE (16.9 vs 14.9 vs 13.7 vs 8.8%; p=0.115) and cardiac death (10.3 vs 8.4 vs 7.9 vs 4.1%; p=0.043) less frequently occurred in the obese group than in other groups during the 1-year follow-up. A multivariate regression model showed obese status (BMI ≥27.5 kg/m2) as an independent predictor of reduced MACE (hazard ratio [HR], 0.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06-0.69; p=0.010) along with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (≤40%) as a predictor of increased MACE (HR,1.87; 95% CI, 1.31-2.68; p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Body mass index in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction was significantly associated with coronary care unit stay and clinical cardiovascular outcomes.

Real-World Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Following Polymer-Free Sirolimus-Eluting Stent Implantations to Treat Coronary Artery Disease.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this post hoc analysis was to analyze real-world dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) regimens following polymer-free sirolimus-eluting stent (PF-SES) implantations in an unselected patient population. METHODS: Patient-level data from two all-comers observational studies (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: NCT02629575 and NCT02905214) were pooled and analyzed in terms of their primary endpoint. During the data verification process, we observed substantial deviations from DAPT guideline recommendations. To illuminate this gap between clinical practice and guideline recommendations, we conducted a post hoc analysis of DAPT regimens and clinical event rates for which we defined the net adverse event rate (NACE) consisting of target lesion revascularization (TLR, primary endpoint of all-comers observational studies) all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), stent thrombosis (ST), and bleeding events. A logistic regression was utilized to determine predictors why ticagrelor was used in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients instead of the guideline-recommended clopidogrel. RESULTS: For stable CAD, the composite endpoint of clinical, bleeding, and stent thrombosis, i.e., NACE, between the clopidogrel and ticagrelor treatment groups was not different (5.4% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.745). Likewise, in the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) cohort, the NACE rates were not different between both DAPT strategies (9.2% vs. 9.3%, p = 0.927). There were also no differences in the accumulated rates for TLR, myocardial infarction ([MI], mortality, bleeding events, and stent thrombosis in elective and ACS patients. The main predictors for ticagrelor use in stable CAD patients were age < 65 years, smaller vessels, treatment of ostial and calcified lesions, and in-stent restenosis. CONCLUSION: Within the framework of a post hoc analysis based on a real-world, large cohort study, there were no differences in the combined endpoint of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), bleeding and thrombotic events for clopidogrel and ticagrelor in stable CAD or ACS patients. Despite the recommendation for clopidogrel by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), real-world ticagrelor use was observed in subgroups of stable CAD patients that ought to be explored in future trials.

Diagnostic performance of dual-energy computed tomography for detection of acute spinal fractures.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic performance of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) with the color-coded virtual non-calcium (VNC) technique for detecting acute fractures in patients after acute spine trauma, especially in an emergency clinical setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our retrospective study included 31 patients presented to emergency department with suspected spine trauma. All patients underwent both DECT (80 kVp and 140 kVp) and MRI. Post-processing was performed using color-coded VNC technique. Two independent radiologists visually assessed color-coded VNC images in a random order, and one of the two readers re-assessed the images in 4 weeks after the initial assessment. They were allowed to read only color-coded VNC images and asked to determine the presence of acute fracture. To determine the standard reference point, the other two experienced radiologists made consensus readings on both grayscale CT and MRI. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy analyses were determined. Both intra- and inter-observer agreements were also calculated. RESULTS: A total of 217 vertebral bodies (65 thoracic and 152 lumbar vertebrae) were included in our study. Sensitivity was 83.3% and 76.7% for first and second readers, respectively. Specificity of 99.5% and 98.9%, PPV of 96.1% and 96.3%, NPV of 97.3% and 96.3%, and accuracy of 97.2% and 95.8%, respectively, were noted. Both intra-observer and inter-observer agreements indicated excellent agreement (κ = 0.86 and κ = 0.84, respectively). CONCLUSION: In spite of the relatively low sensitivity, DECT-based detection of acute spinal fractures showed good specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy, and inter-/intra-observer agreements.

Trial of everolimus-eluting stents or bypass surgery for coronary disease.

BACKGROUND: Most trials comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) have not made use of second-generation drug-eluting stents. METHODS: We conducted a randomized noninferiority trial at 27 centers in East Asia. We planned to randomly assign 1776 patients with multivessel coronary artery disease to PCI with everolimus-eluting stents or to CABG. The primary end point was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, or target-vessel revascularization at 2 years after randomization. Event rates during longer-term follow-up were also compared between groups. RESULTS: After the enrollment of 880 patients (438 patients randomly assigned to the PCI group and 442 randomly assigned to the CABG group), the study was terminated early owing to slow enrollment. At 2 years, the primary end point had occurred in 11.0% of the patients in the PCI group and in 7.9% of those in the CABG group (absolute risk difference, 3.1 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.8 to 6.9; P=0.32 for noninferiority). At longer-term follow-up (median, 4.6 years), the primary end point had occurred in 15.3% of the patients in the PCI group and in 10.6% of those in the CABG group (hazard ratio, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.13; P=0.04). No significant differences were seen between the two groups in the occurrence of a composite safety end point of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. However, the rates of any repeat revascularization and spontaneous myocardial infarction were significantly higher after PCI than after CABG. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with multivessel coronary artery disease, the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events was higher among those who had undergone PCI with the use of everolimus-eluting stents than among those who had undergone CABG. (Funded by CardioVascular Research Foundation and others; BEST ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00997828.).

Comparison of Clinical Outcomes Between Ticagrelor and Prasugrel in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction　- Results From the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institutes of Health.

BACKGROUND: There is little information regarding comparison of ticagrelor and prasugrel in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We sought to compare clinical outcomes between ticagrelor and prasugrel in STEMI.Methods and Results:A total of 1,440 patients with STEMI who underwent successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention were analyzed; the data were obtained from the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institutes of Health. Of the patients, 963 received ticagrelor, and 477 received prasugrel. The primary study endpoint was 12-month major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target vessel revascularization (TVR). MACE occurred in 91 patients (6.3%) over the 1-year follow-up, and there were no differences in the incidence of MACE (hazard ratio [HR] 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76-1.91, P=0.438) between the 2 groups. Analysis by propensity score matching (429 pairs) did not significantly affect the results. The incidence of in-hospital major bleeding events was still comparable between the 2 groups (2.4% vs. 2.5%, odds ratio 0.75, 95% CI 0.30-1.86, P=0.532), and there was no significant difference in the incidence of MACE (5.4% vs. 5.8%, HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.56-1.74, P=0.951) after matching. CONCLUSIONS: Ticagrelor and prasugrel showed similar efficacy and safety profiles for treating STEMI in this Korean multicenter registry.

Comparisons of everolimus and Paclitaxel-eluting stents in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: It has been established that the newer-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) everolimus-eluting stent (EES) is superior to the first-generation DES paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES). However, the advantages of EES over PES in the setting of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) need to be fully elucidated. METHODS: The present analysis enrolled 2,911 AMI patients receiving PES (n = 1,210) or EES (n = 1,701) in a large-scale, prospective, multicenter Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR). Propensity score matching was used to adjust for baseline biases in clinical and angiographic characteristics, yielding a total of 2,398 patients (1,199 receiving PES and 1,199 receiving EES). Various clinical outcomes at 1 year were compared between the two propensity score matched groups. Target lesion failure (TLF) was defined as the composite of cardiac death, recurrent nonfatal myocardial infarction (Re-MI), or target lesion revascularization (TLR). RESULTS: Baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were comparable between the two groups after propensity score matching. Clinical outcomes of the propensity score matched patients showed that the rates of in-hospital and 1-year cardiac and all-cause death were similar between the two groups. But patients in the EES group had significantly lower incidences of Re-MI (1.4% vs 2.8%, P = 0.002), TLR (1.2% vs 3.1%, P = 0.001), TLF (6.4% vs 10.2%, P = 0.001), and probable or definite stent thrombosis (0.3% vs 1.8%, P < 0.001) than did those in the PES group. CONCLUSIONS: The present propensity matched analysis suggests that the use of EES in the setting of AMI appears to be superior to PES in reducing TLF, and stent thrombosis.

Prediction of longitudinal clinical outcomes after acute myocardial infarction using a dynamic machine learning algorithm.

Several regression-based models for predicting outcomes after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have been developed. However, prediction models that encompass diverse patient-related factors over time are limited. This study aimed to develop a machine learning-based model to predict longitudinal outcomes after AMI. This study was based on a nationwide prospective registry of AMI in Korea (n = 13,104). Seventy-seven predictor candidates from prehospitalization to 1 year of follow-up were included, and six machine learning approaches were analyzed. Primary outcome was defined as 1-year all-cause death. Secondary outcomes included all-cause deaths, cardiovascular deaths, and major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) at the 1-year and 3-year follow-ups. Random forest resulted best performance in predicting the primary outcome, exhibiting a 99.6% accuracy along with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.874. Top 10 predictors for the primary outcome included peak troponin-I (variable importance value = 0.048), in-hospital duration (0.047), total cholesterol (0.047), maintenance of antiplatelet at 1 year (0.045), coronary lesion classification (0.043), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels (0.039), body mass index (BMI) (0.037), door-to-balloon time (0.035), vascular approach (0.033), and use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (0.032). Notably, BMI was identified as one of the most important predictors of major outcomes after AMI. BMI revealed distinct effects on each outcome, highlighting a U-shaped influence on 1-year and 3-year MACE and 3-year all-cause death. Diverse time-dependent variables from prehospitalization to the postdischarge period influenced the major outcomes after AMI. Understanding the complexity and dynamic associations of risk factors may facilitate clinical interventions in patients with AMI.

Association between body mass index and three-year outcome of acute myocardial infarction.

Body mass index (BMI), as an important risk factor related to metabolic disease. However, in some studies higher BMI was emphasized as a beneficial factor in the clinical course of patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a concept known as the "BMI paradox." The purpose of this study was to investigate how clinical outcomes of patients treated for AMI differed according to BMI levels. A total of 10,566 patients in the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institutes of Health (KAMIR-NIH) from May 2010 to June 2015 were divided into three BMI groups (group 1: BMI < 22 kg/m2, group 2: ≥ 22 and < 26 kg/m2, and group 3: ≥ 26 kg/m2). The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) at 3 years of follow-up. At 1 year of follow-up, the incidence of MACCE in group 1 was 10.1% of that in group 3, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.27, and 6.5% in group 2, with an HR of 1.415. This tendency continued up to 3 years of follow-up. The study demonstrated that lower incidence of MACCE in the high BMI group of Asians during the 3-year follow-up period compared to the low BMI group. The results implied higher BMI could exert a positive effect on the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with AMI undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Prognostic Impact of CYP2C19 Genotypes on Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Older Patients After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Carriers of CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles have increased adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention, but limited data are available for older patients. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of CYP2C19 genotypes on clinical outcomes in older patients after percutaneous coronary intervention. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study included 1201 older patients (aged ≥75 years) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and received clopidogrel-based dual antiplatelet therapy in South Korea. Patients were grouped on the basis of CYP2C19 genotypes. The primary outcome was 3-year major adverse cardiac events, defined as a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis. Older patients were grouped into 3 groups: normal metabolizer (36.6%), intermediate metabolizer (48.1%), and poor metabolizer (15.2%). The occurrence of the primary outcome was significantly different among the groups (3.1, 7.0, and 6.2% in the normal metabolizer, intermediate metabolizer, and poor metabolizer groups, respectively; P=0.02). The incidence rate of all-cause death at 3 years was greater in the intermediate metabolizer and poor metabolizer groups (8.1% and 9.2%, respectively) compared with that in the normal metabolizer group (3.5%, P=0.03) without significant differences in major bleeding. In the multivariable analysis, the intermediate metabolizer and poor metabolizer groups were independent predictors of 3-year clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In older patients, the presence of any CYP2C19 loss-of-function allele was found to be predictive of a higher incidence of major adverse cardiac events within 3 years following percutaneous coronary intervention. This finding suggests a need for further investigation into an optimal antiplatelet strategy for older patients. REGISTRATION: URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov. Identifier: NCT04734028.

Efficacy and Safety of Sirolimus-Eluting Stent With Biodegradable Polymer Ultimaster™ in Unselected Korean Population: A Multicenter, Prospective, Observational Study From Korean Multicenter Ultimaster Registry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Ultimaster™, a third-generation sirolimus-eluting stent using biodegradable polymer, has been introduced to overcome long term adverse vascular events, such as restenosis or stent thrombosis. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the 12-month clinical outcomes of Ultimaster™ stents in Korean patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: This study is a multicenter, prospective, observational registry across 12 hospitals. To reflect real-world clinical evidence, non-selective subtypes of patients and lesions were included in this study. The study end point was target lesion failure (TLF) (the composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction [MI], and target lesion revascularization [TLR]) at 12-month clinical follow up. RESULTS: A total of 576 patients were enrolled between November 2016 and May 2021. Most of the patients were male (76.5%), with a mean age of 66.0±11.2 years. Among the included patients, 40.1% had diabetes mellitus (DM) and 67.9% had acute coronary syndrome (ACS). At 12 months, the incidence of TLF was 4.1%. The incidence of cardiac death was 1.5%, MI was 1.0%, TLR was 2.7%, and stent thrombosis was 0.6%. In subgroup analysis based on the presence of ACS, DM, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or bifurcation, there were no major differences in the incidence of the primary endpoint. CONCLUSIONS: The present registry shows that Ultimaster™ stent is safe and effective for routine real-world clinical practice in non-selective Korean patients, having a low rate of adverse events at least up to 12 months.

Association of Age- and Body Mass Index-Stratified High On-Treatment Platelet Reactivity With Coronary Intervention Outcomes in East Asian Patients.

BACKGROUND: Although age and body mass index (BMI) significantly affect platelet reactivity units and clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention, there are limited data on the relationship between high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HPR) and clinical outcomes on age and BMI differences. Thus, we investigated the association of HPR with clinical outcomes according to age and BMI. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study analyzed 11 714 patients who underwent platelet function tests after percutaneous coronary intervention. The primary end point was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), whereas the secondary end point was major bleeding. HPR was defined as platelet reactivity units ≥252. Patients were categorized by age (<67 years of age or ≥67 years of age) and BMI (≤22.6 kg/m2 or >22.6 kg/m2). Patients <67 years of age with HPR had increases in both MACCEs (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.436 [95% CI, 1.106-1.867]; P=0.007) and major bleeding (adjusted HR, 1.584 [95% CI, 1.095-2.290]; P=0.015) compared with the those with non-HPR, respectively. In patients ≥67 years of age with HPR, there were no differences in MACCEs, but there was a decrease in major bleeding (adjusted HR, 0.721 [95% CI, 0.542-0.959]; P=0.024). Meanwhile, patients with HPR with BMI >22.6 kg/m2 had increases in MACCEs (adjusted HR, 1.387 [95% CI, 1.140-1.688]; P=0.001). No differences were shown in major bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: HPR was linked to an increase in MACCEs or a decrease in major bleeding in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention, depending on age and BMI. This study is the first to observe that clinical outcomes in patients with HPR after percutaneous coronary intervention may vary based on age and BMI. Because the study is observational, the results should be viewed as hypothesis generating and emphasize the need for randomized clinical trials.

Early Invasive Strategy Based on the Time of Symptom Onset of Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: A limitation of the current guidelines regarding the timing of invasive coronary angiography for patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome is the randomization time. To date, no study has reported the clinical outcomes of invasive strategy timing on the basis of the time of symptom onset. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of invasive strategy timing from the time of symptom onset on the 3-year clinical outcomes of patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). METHODS: Among 13,104 patients from the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institutes of Health, 5,856 patients with NSTE myocardial infarction were evaluated. The patients were categorized according to symptom-to-catheter (StC) time (<48 or ≥48 hours). The primary outcome was 3-year all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Overall, 3,919 patients (66.9%) were classified into the StC time <48 hours group. This group had lower all-cause mortality than the group with StC time ≥48 hours (7.3% vs 13.4%; P < 0.001). The lower risk for all-cause mortality in the group with StC time <48 hours group was consistent in all subgroups. Notably, emergency medical service use (HR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.19-0.52) showed a lower risk for all-cause mortality than no emergency medical service use (HR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.46-0.65; P value for interaction = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: An early invasive strategy on the basis of StC time was associated with a decreased risk for all-cause mortality in patients with NSTEMI. Because the study was based on a prospective registry, the results should be considered hypothesis generating, highlighting the need for further research. (iCReaT Study No. C110016).

Impact of Atrial Fibrillation on Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI): The K-TAVI Registry.

PURPOSE: The incidence and prognostic implications of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) are controversial, especially for Korean patients. Furthermore, the pattern of antithrombotic therapy for these patients is unknown. The present study sought to identify the impact of AF on Korean patients undergoing TAVI and demonstrate the status of antithrombotic therapy for these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 660 patients who underwent TAVI for severe AS were recruited from the nationwide K-TAVI registry in Korea. The enrolled patients were stratified into sinus rhythm (SR) and AF groups. The primary endpoint was all-cause death at 1-year. RESULTS: AF was recorded in 135 patients [pre-existing AF 108 (16.4%) and new-onset AF 27 (4.1%)]. The rate of all-cause death at 1 year was significantly higher in patients with AF than in those with SR [16.2% vs. 6.4%, adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 2.207, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.182-4.120, p=0.013], regardless of the onset timing of AF. The rate of new pacemaker insertion at 1 year was also significantly higher in patients with AF than in those with SR (14.0% vs. 5.5%, adjusted HR: 3.137, 95%CI: 1.621-6.071, p=0.001). Among AF patients, substantial number of patients received the combination of multiple antithrombotic agents (77.8%), and the most common combination was that of aspirin and clopidogrel (38.1%). CONCLUSION: AF was an independent predictor of 1-year mortality and new pacemaker insertion in Korean patients undergoing TAVI.

The impact of diabetes duration on left ventricular diastolic function and cardiovascular disease.

OBJECTIVES: The question of whether diabetes mellitus (DM) duration correlates with the severity of dysfunction has not been well studied. We hypothesised that the longer the duration of DM the worse the severity of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction and increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: We reviewed 547 diabetic patients between January 2005 and April 2010. Finally, 92 consecutive patients who presented with type 2 DM and who underwent echocardiographic assessment were enrolled according to the selection criteria. In all patients, ischaemic heart disease and heart failure were excluded. RESULTS: Diastolic parameters were significantly worsened with increasing duration of DM (p<0.05). In the ≥7 years DM duration group (n=50), the E/Ea ratio increased significantly and the Ea/Aa ratio decreased significantly, compared with those in the <7 years DM duration group (n=42). CVD developed in 28 patients (30.4%) during the follow-up period. However, the duration of DM showed less statistical correlation with the incidence of CVD (p=0.188) and other LV diastolic function indices did not differ significantly between groups with or without CVD. CONCLUSIONS: Alteration of diastolic function induced by DM worsens with increasing duration of DM. DM duration on echocardiographic evaluation time did not differ significantly between the CVD incident and the non-CVD incident groups. The rate of CVD development was not significantly different if the duration of DM was more than 7 years. Therefore, active medical care including echocardiography should be undertaken to prevent CVD from the point of diagnosis of type 2 DM.

Association between High Lipid Burden of Target Lesion and Slow TIMI Flow in Coronary Interventions.

Decreased thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow is associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, its predictors are not fully known. A combination of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) could be used to detect lesions at high risk of slow TIMI flow. This study evaluated 636 consecutive patients undergoing target-lesion NIRS-IVUS imaging prior to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The maximal lipid core burden index over 4-mm segments (maxLCBI4mm) per target vessel was calculated. The primary endpoint was the association between maxLCBI4mm and post-interventional TIMI flow. A high lipid core burden index (LCBI) cut-off point was determined using receiver-operating characteristic analysis. Decreased TIMI flow (TIMI less than 3) occurred in 90 patients and normal TIMI flow in 546 patients. The decreased TIMI flow group showed significantly higher incidence of cardiovascular events (5.6% vs. 1.5%, log-rank p = 0.010) in three months of composite events including cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, and target lesion revascularization. In multivariable analysis, a high LCBI (≥354) was independently associated with slow TIMI flow (OR, 2.59 (95% CI, 1.33-5.04), p = 0.005). High LCBI measured using NIRS-IVUS imaging was an independent predictor of decreased post-PCI TIMI flow. Performing PCI for high-LCBI lesions may necessitate adjunctive measures to prevent suboptimal post-PCI reperfusion.

Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Delayed Hospitalization for Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the number of patients presenting with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) has reduced, whereas increased mortality was reported. A plausible explanation for increased mortality was prehospital delay because of patients' reticence of their symptoms. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between prehospital delay and clinical outcomes in patients with NSTEMI METHODS: Among 13,104 patients from the Korea-Acute-Myocardial-Infarction-Registry-National Institutes of Health, the authors evaluated 6,544 patients with NSTEMI. Study patients were categorized into 2 groups according to symptom-to-door (StD) time (<24 or ≥24 hours). The primary outcome was 3-year all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcome was 3-year composite of all-cause mortality, recurrent MI, and hospitalization for heart failure. RESULTS: Overall, 1,827 (27.9%) patients were classified into the StD time ≥24 hours group. The StD time ≥24 hours group had higher all-cause mortality (17.0% vs 10.5%; P < 0.001) and incidence of secondary outcomes (23.3% vs 15.7%; P < 0.001) than the StD time <24 hours group. The higher all-cause mortality in the StD time ≥24 hours group was observed consistently in the subgroup analysis regarding age, sex, atypical chest pain, dyspnea, Q-wave in electrocardiogram, use of emergency medical services, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, left ventricle dysfunction, TIMI (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction) flow, and the GRACE risk score. In the multivariable analysis, independent predictors of prehospital delay were the elderly, women, nonspecific symptoms such as atypical chest pain or dyspnea, diabetes, and no use of emergency medical services. CONCLUSIONS: Prehospital delay is associated with an increased risk of 3-year all-cause mortality in patients with NSTEMI. (iCReaT Study No. C110016).