Prognostic Implications of N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide in Patients With Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Limited data exist regarding the prognostic implications of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS AND RESULTS: Of 13,104 patients in the nationwide Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institutes of Health, 3,083 patients with NSTEMI who underwent PCI were included in the present study. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 3 years, a composite of all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction, unplanned repeat revascularization, and admission for heart failure. NT-proBNP was measured at the time of initial presentation for the management of NSTEMI, and patients were divided into a low (<700 pg/mL; n=1,813) and high (≥700 pg/mL; n=1,270) NT-proBNP group. The high NT-proBNP group had a significantly higher risk of MACE, driven primarily by a higher risk of cardiac death or admission for heart failure. These results were consistent after confounder adjustment by propensity score matching and inverse probability weighting analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with NSTEMI who underwent PCI, an initial elevated NT-proBNP concentration was associated with higher risk of MACE at 3 years, driven primarily by higher risks of cardiac death or admission for heart failure. These results suggest that the initial NT-proBNP concentration may have a clinically significant prognostic value in NSTEMI patients undergoing PCI.

Association between intensive care unit nursing grade and mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock and its cost-effectiveness.

BACKGROUND: Despite the high workload of cardiac intensive care unit (ICU), there is a paucity of evidence on the association between nurse workforce and mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS). This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of the ICU nursing grade on mortality and cost-effectiveness in CS. METHODS: A nationwide analysis was performed using the K-NHIS database. Patients diagnosed with CS and admitted to the ICU at tertiary hospitals were enrolled. ICU nursing grade was defined according to the bed-to-nurse ratio: grade1 (bed-to-nurse ratio < 0.5), grade2 (0.5 ≤ bed-to-nurse ratio < 0.63), and grade3 (0.63 ≤ bed-to-nurse ratio < 0.77) or above. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Cost-effective analysis was also performed. RESULTS: Of the 72,950 patients with CS, 27,216 (37.3%) were in ICU nursing grade 1, 29,710 (40.7%) in grade 2, and 16,024 (22.0%) in grade ≥ 3. The adjusted-OR for in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in patients with grade 2 (grade 1 vs. grade 2, 30.6% vs. 37.5%, adjusted-OR 1.14, 95% CI1.09-1.19) and grade ≥ 3 (40.6%) with an adjusted-OR of 1.29 (95% CI 1.23-1.36) than those with grade 1. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of grade1 compared with grade 2 and ≥ 3 was $25,047/year and $42,888/year for hospitalization and $5151/year and $5269/year for 1-year follow-up, suggesting that grade 1 was cost-effective. In subgroup analysis, the beneficial effects of the high-intensity nursing grade on mortality were more prominent in patients who received CPR or multiple vasopressors usage. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with CS, ICU grade 1 with a high-intensity nursing staff was associated with reduced mortality and more cost-effectiveness during hospitalization compared to grade 2 and grade ≥ 3, and its beneficial effects were more pronounced in subjects at high risk of CS.

Optimal Antithrombotic Therapy Beyond 1-Year After Coronary Revascularization in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Currently, non-vitamin K-antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) monotherapy has been suggested as the optimal antithrombotic therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF) beyond one year after coronary revascularization. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes between NOAC monotherapy and NOAC plus antiplatelet combination therapy using real-world data. METHODS: Between 2015 and 2020, patients with AF who had received NOACs beyond one year after coronary revascularization were enrolled from Korean national insurance data. We emulated a pragmatic sequence of trials between the NOAC monotherapy and the antiplatelet combination therapy followed by propensity score matching. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. RESULTS: Among 206,407 person-trials from 4,465 individuals, we compared 3,275 pairs of the monotherapy and the matched combination therapy. During a median follow-up of 1.24 years, the incidence rate of MACCE was 19.4% and 20.0% per patient-year in the monotherapy group and the antiplatelet combination group, respectively (hazard ratio [HR], 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88-1.05; P = 0.422). Compared with the antiplatelet combination group, the monotherapy group had a significantly lower incidence rate of major bleeding, defined as intracranial bleeding or gastrointestinal bleeding requiring hospitalization (2.8% vs. 3.6% per patient-year; HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.62-0.97; P = 0.024). CONCLUSION: As an antithrombotic therapy for AF beyond one year after coronary revascularization, NOAC monotherapy was associated with a similar risk of MACCE and a lower risk of major bleeding compared to NOAC plus antiplatelet combination therapy.

Prognostic Implications of Microvascular Resistance Reserve in Symptomatic Patients With Intermediate Coronary Stenosis.

BACKGROUND: Microvascular resistance reserve (MRR) is a novel index reflecting coronary microcirculatory function, irrespective of epicardial coronary artery stenosis. There is limited evidence regarding whether MRR can be an independent prognostic tool in patients with stable ischemic heart disease (IHD). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes according to MRR in patients with stable IHD accompanied with or without significant epicardial coronary artery stenosis. METHODS: The present study included 547 consecutive patients undergoing systematic echocardiographic and invasive physiological assessment for suspected stable IHD. Significant epicardial coronary artery stenosis was defined as fractional flow reserve (FFR) ≤0.80. Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) was defined as MRR ≤3.0. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization, and admission for heart failure. RESULTS: Among the study group, 172 patients (31.4%) had FFR ≤0.80, and 200 patients (36.6%) had CMD defined by MRR ≤3.0. MRR showed no significant correlation with FFR (R = -0.031; P = 0.469), but it was significantly correlated with the index of microcirculatory resistance (R = -0.353; P < 0.001), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (R = -0.296; P < 0.001), left ventricular filling pressure (E/e' ratio) (R = -0.224; P < 0.001), and diastolic dysfunction grade (P < 0.001). During a median follow-up period of 3.3 years (Q1-Q3: 2.0-4.5 years), MRR was significantly associated with MACE risk (HR: 1.23 per 1-U decrease; 95% CI: 1.12-1.36; P < 0.001). CMD defined by MRR ≤3.0 was associated with an increased MACE risk for both FFR >0.80 (41.0% vs 26.0%; adjusted HR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.07-2.35; P = 0.021) and FFR ≤0.80 (34.7% vs 14.8%; adjusted HR: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.12-4.82; P = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Decreased MRR was associated with the presence of cardiac diastolic dysfunction as well as increased left ventricular filling pressure. The presence of CMD defined by MRR was independently associated with the risk for a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization, and admission for heart failure in patients with stable IHD, irrespective of significant epicardial coronary artery stenosis. (Prognostic Impact of Cardiac Diastolic Function and Coronary Microvascular Function [DIAST-CMD]; NCT05058833).

VA-ECMO weaning strategy using adjusted pulse pressure by vasoactive inotropic score in AMI complicated by cardiogenic shock.

AIMS: This study evaluated how well serial pulse pressure (PP) and PP adjusted by the vasoactive inotropic score (VIS) predicted venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) weaning success and clinical outcomes in acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS) patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 213 patients with AMI-CS who received VA-ECMO between January 2010 and August 2021 were enrolled in the institutional ECMO registry. Serial PP and VIS were measured immediately, 12, 24, and 48 h after VA-ECMO insertion. PP adjusted by VIS was defined as PP/√VIS. The primary outcome was successful VA-ECMO weaning. Successful weaning from VA-ECMO was observed in 151 patients (70.9%). Immediately after VA-ECMO insertion, PP [successful vs. failed weaning, 26.0 (15.5-46.0) vs. 21.0 (12.5-33.0), P = 0.386] and PP/√VIS [11.1 (5.1-25.0) vs. 6.0 (3.1-14.2), P = 0.118] did not differ between the successful and failed weaning groups. Serial PP and PP adjusted by VIS at 12, 24, and 48 h after VA-ECMO insertion were significantly higher in patients with successful weaning than those with failed weaning [successful vs. failed weaning, 24.0 (4.0-38.0) vs. 12.5 (6.0-25.5), P = 0.007 for 12 h PP, and 10.1 (5.7-22.0) vs. 2.9 (1.7-5.9), P < 0.001 for 12 h PP/√VIS]. The 12 h PP/√VIS showed better discriminative function for successful weaning than 12 h PP alone [area under the curve (AUC) 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72-0.88, P < 0.001 vs. AUC 0.67, 95% CI 0.57-0.77, P = 0.002]. Patients with a low 12 h PP/√VIS (≤7) had higher rates of in-hospital mortality (44.4% vs. 19.8%, P < 0.001) and 6 month follow-up mortality (hazard ratio 2.41, 95% CI 1.49-3.90, P < 0.001) than those with a high 12 h PP/√VIS (>7). CONCLUSIONS: PP adjusted by VIS taken 12 h following VA-ECMO initiation can predict weaning from VA-ECMO more successfully than PP alone, and its low value was associated with a higher risk of mortality in AMI-CS patients.

Elevated white blood cell count and long-term clinical outcomes of patients with vasospastic angina.

OBJECTIVES: Inflammation is known as one of key pathophysiologic mechanisms of coronary artery disease. We aimed to investigate the relationship between white blood cell (WBC) count and long-term clinical outcomes of patients with vasospastic angina (VA). METHODS: A total of 823 patients who were diagnosed as VA without significant coronary lesion by coronary angiography with ergonovine provocation test were enrolled for analysis. Patients were divided according to WBC count tertile at the time of diagnosis: group I, tertile 1 and 2 (n = 546, <7490/ml); group II, tertile 3 (n = 277, ≥7490/ml). Primary outcome was defined as major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), a composite outcome of all-cause death, cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), readmission due to cardiac symptoms, and revascularization. RESULTS: Median follow-up duration was 4.3 years. No significant difference of primary outcome was observed between group I and group II (14.7% vs. 20.2%, hazard ratio (HR) 1.29, confidence interval (CI) 0.90-1.83, P  = 0.162), while incidence of cardiac death and MI was significantly higher in group II (1.5% vs. 4.3%, HR 2.86, CI 1.14-7.17), P  = 0.025). In multivariate Cox regression model, elevated WBC count at the time of diagnosis of VA was an independent predictor of MI (HR 3.43, CI 1.02-11.59, P  = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Elevated WBC count at the time of diagnosis was associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiac death and MI during long-term follow-up in VA patients.

Intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention for heavily calcified coronary lesions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Although multiple randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have shown that intravascular imaging (IVI)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with improved clinical outcomes compared with angiography-guided PCI, its benefits specifically in calcified coronary lesions is unclear due to the small number of patients included in individual trials. We performed a meta-analysis of RCTs to investigate benefits of IVI-guided PCI compared with angiography-guided PCI in heavily calcified coronary lesions. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), a composite of cardiac death, target-vessel or target-lesion myocardial infarction, and target-vessel or target lesion revascularization. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by using a random-effects meta-analysis based on the restricted maximum likelihood method. A search PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from their inception to January 2024 identified 4 trials that randomized 1319 patients with angiographically moderate or severe or severe coronary calcification to IVI-guided (n = 702) vs. angiography-guided PCI (n = 617). IVI-guided PCI resulted in a significantly lower odds of MACE (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.40-0.80) compared with angiography-guided PCI at a weighted median follow-up duration of 27.3 months. There was no evidence of heterogeneity among the studies (I2 = 0.0%), and included trials were judged to be low risk of bias. Compared with angiography-guided PCI, IVI-guided PCI was associated with a significantly lower MACE in angiographically heavily calcified coronary lesions.

The association of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score at intensive care unit discharge with intensive care unit readmission in the cardiac intensive care unit.

AIMS: Unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) readmissions contribute to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. The severity of patient illness at ICU discharge may predict early ICU readmission. Thus, in this study, we investigated the association of cardiac ICU (CICU) discharge Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score with unplanned CICU readmission in patients admitted to the CICU. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital medical records of 4659 patients who were admitted to the CICU from 2012 to 18. Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores at CICU admission and discharge were obtained. The predictive performance of organ failure scoring was evaluated by using area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves. The primary outcome was unplanned CICU readmission. Of the 3949 patients successfully discharged from the CICU, 184 (4.7%) had an unplanned CICU readmission or they experienced a deteriorated condition but died without being readmitted to the CICU (readmission group). The readmission group had significantly higher rates of organ failure in all organ systems at both CICU admission and discharge than the non-readmission group. The AUROC of the discharge SOFA score for CICU readmission was 0.731, showing good predictive performance. The AUROC of the discharge SOFA score was significantly greater than that of either the initial SOFA score (P = 0.020) or the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (P < 0.001). In the multivariable regression analysis, SOFA score, overweight or obese status, history of heart failure, and acute heart failure as reasons for ICU admission were independent predictors of unplanned ICU readmission during the same hospital stay. CONCLUSION: The discharge SOFA score may identify patients at a higher risk of unplanned CICU readmission, enabling targeted interventions to reduce readmission rates and improve patient outcomes.

In-hospital and long-term outcomes of cardiogenic shock complicating myocardial infarction versus heart failure.

AIMS: This study sought to examine the difference in clinical characteristics, treatment strategy, trends in mortality, and medical costs according to the aetiologies of cardiogenic shock (CS). METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a population-based, nationwide, cohort study from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. All CS adults (≥18 years) were admitted to an intensive care unit from January 2010 to December 2020. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcomes were cardiac replacement therapy (left ventricular assisted device implantation or heart transplantation), all-cause mortality, ischaemic stroke, rehospitalization for heart failure (HF) during follow-up, and actual in-hospital medical costs. Among 136 092 individuals with CS, 48 704 (29.7%) cases were due to acute myocardial infarction-related CS (AMI-CS), and the remaining 87 388 (71.3%) were due to HF-CS (ischaemic cardiomyopathy [ICM] vs. non-ICM, 49 504 [56.6%] vs. 37 884 [45.4%]). Patients with HF-CS were older, less likely to be male, and less likely to receive mechanical circulatory support, compared to those with AMI-CS. During the 10-year study period, the in-hospital mortality rate decreased, and actual medical costs tended to increase, regardless of CS aetiology. Compared with AMI-CS, HF-CS was associated with higher risks of in-hospital mortality (40.3% vs. 28.5%; adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43-1.52), cardiac replacement therapy (adjusted OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.16-2.34), as well as follow-up mortality after successful discharge (19.3% vs. 8.5%; adjusted-hazard ratio 1.54, 95% CI 1.48-1.59). HF-CS had lower medical costs than AMI-CS (adjusted ratio 0.79, 95% CI 0.79-0.80). CONCLUSIONS: With medical advances during the past 10 years, the mortality of CS has decreased significantly, but the mortality of HF-CS remains high. The findings highlight the need for effective treatment strategies for patients with HF-CS.

Transfusion and clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention.

We investigated the long-term patterns and effects of transfusion on the clinical outcome of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using a nationwide registry. Five-year clinical outcome of all Koreans undergoing PCI using stent in year 2011 (n = 48,786) was investigated. Primary outcome was the incidence density of transfusion. The association of transfusion with major adverse clinical event (MACE) consisting all-cause death, revascularization, critically ill cardiovascular status, or stroke was assessed after adjusting the propensity of each patient for transfusion. The 5-year incidence density of transfusion was 4.74 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.70-4.79) per 100 person-year. Patients who received transfusion were older and had higher frequency of clinical risk factors (p < 0.001, all). Transfusion was associated with MACE (hazard ratio [HR] 3.2, 95% CI 3.2-3.3, p < 0.001) and all other clinical events (HR 1.5-6.9, p < 0.001, all). The period of transfusion coincided with the period of highest MACE incidence density. Subgroup analyses showed consistent results. Within 5 years after PCI, a total of 22.9% of patients received transfusion and had a 3.2-fold higher risk of MACE compared to patients without transfusion.

Angiotensin receptor blockers versus angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in acute myocardial infarction without heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Whether angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) can be an alternative to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) in patients without heart failure (HF) after acute myocardial infarction (MI) remains controversial. The aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes between initial ARB and ACEI therapy in patients with MI without HF. METHODS: Between 2010 and 2016, a total of 31,013 patients who underwent coronary revascularization for MI with prescription of ARB or ACEI at hospital discharge were enrolled from the Korean nationwide medical insurance data. Patients who had HF at index MI were excluded. The primary outcome was all-cause death. The secondary outcomes included recurrent MI, hospitalization for new heart HF, stoke, and a composite of each outcome. RESULTS: Of 31,013 patients, ARBs were prescribed in 12,685 (40.9%) and ACEIs in 18,328 (59.1%). Patients receiving ARB had a lower discontinuation rate compared with those receiving ACEI (28.2% versus 43.5%, adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.31-0.37, p<0.01). During a median follow-up of 2.2 years, 2,480 patients died. The incidence rate of all-cause death in patients receiving ARB and those receiving ACEI was 27.7 and 22.9 per 1,000 person-years, respectively (adjusted HR 1.04; 95% CI, 0.95-1.13; p=0.40). There were no significant differences in the secondary outcomes between patients receiving ARB and those receiving ACEI, except stroke (19.2 vs. 13.6 per 1,000 person-years; adjusted HR 1.17; 95% CI 1.04-1.32; p=0.01). In a subgroup analysis, a higher mortality was observed with ARBs compared to ACEIs in patients with diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: In this nationwide cohort, there was no significant difference in the incidence of all-cause death between ARB and ACEI as discharge medications in patients with MI without HF. ARBs would be an alternative to ACEIs for those intolerant to ACEI therapy.

Current evidence for prognostic benefit of intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention in chronic total occlusion intervention.

Although percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO) has been increasing in recent years, CTO PCI is still one of the most challenging procedures with relatively higher rates of procedural complications and adverse clinical events after PCI. Due to the innate limitations of invasive coronary angiography, intravascular imaging (IVI) has been used as an adjunctive tool to complement PCI, especially in complex coronary artery disease. Considering the complexity of CTO lesions, the role of IVI is particularly important in CTO intervention. IVI has been a useful adjunctive tool in every step of CTO PCI including assisted wire crossing, confirmation of wire location within CTO segment, and stent optimization. The meticulous use of IVI has been one of the greatest contributors to recent progress of CTO PCI. Nevertheless, studies evaluating the role of IVI during CTO PCI are limited. The current review provides a comprehensive overview of the mechanistic advantages of IVI in CTO PCI, summarizes previous studies and trials, and presents future perspective of IVI in CTO PCI.

Angiographic Findings and Post-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Fractional Flow Reserve.

Importance: The associations between angiographic findings and post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) fractional flow reserve (FFR) and their clinical relevance according to residual functional disease burden have not been thoroughly investigated. Objectives: To evaluate the association of angiographic and physiologic parameters according to residual functional disease burden after drug-eluting stent implantation. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study population was from the International Post-PCI FFR registry, which incorporated 4 registries from Korea, China, and Japan. Patients who underwent angiographically successful second-generation drug-eluting stent implantation and post-PCI FFR measurement were included in the analysis. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the residual disease burden (post-PCI FFR ≤0.80 [residual ischemia], 0.81-0.86 [suboptimal], and >0.86 [optimal]). The data were collected from August 23, 2018, to June 11, 2019, and the current analysis was performed from January 11, 2022, to October 7, 2023. Exposures: Angiographic parameters and post-PCI FFR. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was target vessel failure (TVF), defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization (TVR) at 2 years. Results: In this cohort of 2147 patients, the mean (SD) age was 64.3 (10.0) years, and 1644 patients (76.6%) were men. Based on the post-PCI physiologic status, 269 patients (12.5%) had residual ischemia, 551 (25.7%) had suboptimal results, and 1327 (61.8%) had optimal results. Angiographic parameters had poor correlations with post-PCI FFR (r < 0.20). Post-PCI FFR was isolated from all angiographic parameters in the unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis. Post-PCI FFR was associated with the occurrence of TVF (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] per post-PCI FFR 0.01 increase, 0.94 [95% CI, 0.92-0.97]; P < .001), but angiographic parameters were not. The residual ischemia group had a significantly higher rate of TVF than the suboptimal group (AHR, 1.75 [95% CI, 1.08-2.83]; P = .02) and the optimal group (AHR, 2.94 [95% CI, 1.82-4.73]; P < .001). The TVR in the residual ischemia group was predominantly associated with TVR in the nonstented segment (14 [53.8%]), unlike the other 2 groups (3 [10.0%] in the suboptimal group and 13 [30.2%] in the optimal group). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of the International Post-PCI FFR registry, a low degree of associations were observed between angiographic and physiologic parameters after PCI. Post-PCI FFR, unlike angiographic parameters, was associated with clinical events and the distribution of clinical events. The current study supports the use of post-PCI FFR as a procedural quality metric and further prospective study is warranted.

Clinical significance of residual ischaemia in acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock undergoing venoarterial-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

AIMS: Although culprit-only revascularization during the index procedure has been recommended in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS), the reduction in residual ischaemia is also emphasized to improve clinical outcomes. However, few data are available about the significance of residual ischaemia in patients undergoing mechanical circulatory supports. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of residual ischaemia on clinical outcomes in patients with AMI undergoing venoarterial-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with AMI with multivessel disease who underwent VA-ECMO due to refractory CS were pooled from the RESCUE and SMC-ECMO registries. The included patients were classified into three groups according to residual ischaemia evaluated using the residual Synergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score (rSS): rSS = 0, 0 < rSS ≤ 8, and rSS > 8. The primary outcome was 1-year all-cause death. A total of 408 patients were classified into the rSS = 0 (n = 100, 24.5%), 0 < rSS ≤ 8 (n = 136, 33.3%), and rSS > 8 (n = 172, 42.2%) groups. The cumulative incidence of the primary outcome differed significantly according to rSS (33.9 vs. 55.4 vs. 66.1% for rSS = 0, 0 < rSS ≤ 8, and rSS > 8, respectively, overall P < 0.001). In a multivariable model, rSS was independently associated with the risk of 1-year all-cause death (adjusted hazard ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.05, P = 0.003). Conversely, the baseline SYNTAX score was not associated with the risk of the primary outcome. Furthermore, when patients were stratified by rSS, the primary outcome did not differ significantly between the high and low delta SYNTAX score groups. CONCLUSION: In patients with AMI with refractory CS who underwent VA-ECMO, residual ischaemia was associated with an increased risk of 1-year mortality. Future studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of revascularization strategies to minimize residual ischaemia in patients with CS supported with VA-ECMO. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: REtrospective and Prospective Observational Study to Investigate Clinical oUtcomes and Efficacy of Left Ventricular Assist Device for Korean Patients With Cardiogenic Shock (RESCUE), NCT02985008.

Intravascular Imaging-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Before and After Standardized Optimization Protocols.

BACKGROUND: Although benefits of intravascular imaging (IVI) in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have been observed in previous studies, it is not known whether changes in contemporary practice, especially with application of standardized optimization protocols, have improved clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVES: The authors sought to investigate whether clinical outcomes of IVI-guided PCI are different before and after the application of standardized optimization protocols in using IVI. METHODS: 2,972 patients from an institutional registry (2008-2015, before application of standardized optimization protocols, the past group) and 1,639 patients from a recently published trial (2018-2021 after application of standardized optimization protocols, the present group) were divided into 2 groups according to use of IVI. The primary outcome was 3-year target vessel failure (TVF), a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, or target vessel revascularization. RESULTS: Significant reduction of TVF was observed in the IVI-guided PCI group compared with the angiography-guided PCI group (10.0% vs 6.7%; HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61-0.97; P = 0.027), mainly driven by reduced cardiac death or myocardial infarction in both past and present IVI-guided PCI groups. When comparing past IVI and present IVI groups, TVF was significantly lower in the present IVI group (8.5% vs 5.1%; HR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.42-0.94; P = 0.025), with the difference being driven by reduced target vessel revascularization in the present IVI group. Consistent results were observed in inverse-probability-weighting adjusted analysis. CONCLUSIONS: IVI-guided PCI improved clinical outcomes more than angiography-guided PCI. In addition, application of standardized optimization protocols when using IVI further improved clinical outcomes after PCI. (Intravascular Imaging- Versus Angiography-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention For Complex Coronary Artery Disease [RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI]; NCT03381872; and the institutional cardiovascular catheterization database of Samsung Medical Center: Long-Term Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Patient Undergoing CABG or PCI; NCT03870815).

Cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction and multivessel disease: revascularization strategy according to ischemic territory.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The association of revascularization strategy with clinical outcomes according to the ischemic territory of nonculprit lesion has not been documented in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS). This study aimed to compare outcomes between culprit-only and immediate multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) according to ischemic territory in patients with AMI-CS. METHODS: A total of 536 patients with AMI-CS and multivessel disease from the SMART-RESCUE registry were categorized according to ischemic territory (nonculprit left main/proximal left anterior descending artery [LM/pLAD] vs culprit LM/pLAD vs no LM/pLAD). The primary outcome was a patient-oriented composite endpoint (POCE) consisting of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, rehospitalization due to heart failure, or repeat revascularization at 1 year. RESULTS: Among the total population, 108 patients had nonculprit LM/pLAD, 228 patients had culprit LM/pLAD, and 200 patients had no LM/pLAD, with the risk of POCE being higher in patients with large ischemic territory lesions (53.6% vs 53.4% vs 39.6%; P = .02). Multivessel PCI was associated with a significantly lower risk of POCE compared with culprit-only PCI in patients with nonculprit LM/pLAD (40.7% vs 66.9%; HR, 0.52; 95%CI, 0.29-0.91; P=.02), but not in those with culprit LM/pLAD (P=.46) or no LM/pLAD (P=.47). A significant interaction existed between revascularization strategy and large nonculprit ischemic territory (P=.03). CONCLUSIONS: Large ischemic territory involvement was associated with worse clinical outcomes in patients with AMI-CS and multivessel disease. Immediate multivessel PCI might improve clinical outcomes in patients with a large nonculprit ischemic burden.

Differential Impact of Fractional Flow Reserve Measured After Coronary Stent Implantation by Left Ventricular Dysfunction.

Background: Both left ventricular systolic function and fractional flow reserve (FFR) are prognostic factors after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, how these prognostic factors are inter-related in risk stratification of patients after PCI remains unclarified. Objectives: This study evaluated differential prognostic implication of post-PCI FFR according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Methods: A total of 2,965 patients with available LVEF were selected from the POST-PCI FLOW (Prognostic Implications of Physiologic Investigation After Revascularization with Stent) international registry of patients with post-PCI FFR measurement. The primary outcome was a composite of cardiac death or target-vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI) at 2 years. The secondary outcome was target-vessel revascularization (TVR) and target vessel failure, which was a composite of cardiac death, TVMI, or TVR. Results: Post-PCI FFR was independently associated with the risk of target vessel failure (per 0.01 decrease: HRadj: 1.029; 95% CI: 1.009-1.049; P = 0.005). Post-PCI FFR was associated with increased risk of cardiac death or TVMI (HRadj: 1.145; 95% CI: 1.025-1.280; P = 0.017) among patients with LVEF ≤40%, and with that of TVR in patients with LVEF >40% (HRadj: 1.028; 95% CI: 1.005-1.052; P = 0.020). Post-PCI FFR ≤0.80 was associated with increased risk of cardiac death or TVMI in the LVEF ≤40% group and with that of TVR in LVEF >40% group. Prognostic impact of post-PCI FFR for the primary outcome was significantly different according to LVEF (Pinteraction = 0.019). Conclusions: Post-PCI FFR had differential prognostic impact according to LVEF. Residual ischemia by post-PCI FFR ≤0.80 was a prognostic indicator for cardiac death or TVMI among patients with patients with LVEF ≤40%, and it was associated with TVR among patients with patients with LVEF>40%. (Prognostic Implications of Physiologic Investigation After Revascularization with Stent [POST-PCI FLOW]; NCT04684043).

Impact of sex on the assessment of the microvascular resistance reserve.

BACKGROUND: The microvascular resistance reserve (MRR) is an innovative index to assess the vasodilatory capacity of the coronary circulation while accounting for the presence of concomitant epicardial disease. The MRR has shown to be a valuable diagnostic and prognostic tool in the general coronary artery disease (CAD) population. However, considering the fundamental aspects of its assessment and the unique hemodynamic characteristics of women, it is crucial to provide additional considerations for evaluating the MRR specifically in women. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic and prognostic applicability of the MRR in women and assess the potential differences across different sexes. METHODS: From the ILIAS Registry, we enrolled all patients with a stable indication for invasive coronary angiography, ensuring complete physiological and follow-up data. We analyzed the diagnostic value by comparing differences between sexes and evaluated the prognostic value of the MRR specifically in women, comparing it to that in men. RESULTS: A total of 1494 patients were included of which 26% were women. The correlation between MRR and CFR was good and similar between women (r = 0.80, p < 0.005) and men (r = 0.81, p < 0.005). The MRR was an independent and important predictor of MACE in both women (HR 0.67, 0.47-0.96, p = 0.027) and men (HR 0.84, 0.74-0.95, p = 0.007). The optimal cut-off value for MRR in women was 2.8 and 3.2 in men. An abnormal MRR similarly predicted MACE at 5-year follow-up in both women and men. CONCLUSION: The MRR seems to be equally applicable in both women and men with stable coronary artery disease.

Cost-Effectiveness of Intravascular Imaging-Guided Complex PCI: Prespecified Analysis of RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI Trial.

BACKGROUND: Although clinical benefits of intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with complex coronary artery lesions have been observed in previous trials, the cost-effectiveness of this strategy is uncertain. METHODS: RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance vs Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) was conducted in Korea between May 2018 and May 2021. This prespecified cost-effectiveness substudy was conducted using Markov model that simulated 3 states: (1) post-PCI, (2) spontaneous myocardial infarction, and (3) death. A simulated cohort was derived from the intention-to-treat population, and input parameters were extracted from either the trial data or previous publications. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated using time horizon of 3 years (within trial) and lifetime. The primary outcome was incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), an indicator of incremental cost on additional quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained, in intravascular imaging-guided PCI compared with angiography-guided PCI. The current analysis was performed using the Korean health care sector perspective with reporting the results in US dollar (1200 Korean Won, ₩=1 dollar, $). Willingness to pay threshold was $35 000 per QALY gained. RESULTS: A total of 1639 patients were included in the trial. During 3-year follow-up, medical costs ($8661 versus $7236; incremental cost, $1426) and QALY (2.34 versus 2.31; incremental QALY, 0.025) were both higher in intravascular imaging-guided PCI than angiography-guided PCI, resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $57 040 per QALY gained within trial data. Conversely, lifetime simulation showed total cumulative medical cost was reversed between the 2 groups ($40 455 versus $49 519; incremental cost, -$9063) with consistently higher QALY (8.24 versus 7.89; incremental QALY, 0.910) in intravascular imaging-guided PCI than angiography-guided PCI, resulting in a dominant incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Consistently, 70% of probabilistic iterations showed cost-effectiveness of intravascular imaging-guided PCI in probabilistic sensitivity analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The current cost-effectiveness analysis suggests that imaging-guided PCI is more cost-effective than angiography-guided PCI by reducing medical cost and increasing quality-of-life in complex coronary artery lesions in long-term follow-up. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03381872.

Cost-Effectiveness of Fractional Flow Reserve-Guided Treatment for Acute Myocardial Infarction and Multivessel Disease: A Prespecified Analysis of the FRAME-AMI Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Complete revascularization by non-infarct-related artery (IRA) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction is standard practice to improve patient prognosis. However, it is unclear whether a fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided or angiography-guided treatment strategy for non-IRA PCI would be more cost-effective. Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided compared with angiography-guided PCI in patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel disease. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this prespecified cost-effectiveness analysis of the FRAME-AMI randomized clinical trial, patients were randomly allocated to either FFR-guided or angiography-guided PCI for non-IRA lesions between August 19, 2016, and December 24, 2020. Patients were aged 19 years or older, had ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) or non-STEMI and underwent successful primary or urgent PCI, and had at least 1 non-IRA lesion (diameter stenosis >50% in a major epicardial coronary artery or major side branch with a vessel diameter of ≥2.0 mm). Data analysis was performed on August 27, 2023. Intervention: Fractional flow reserve-guided vs angiography-guided PCI for non-IRA lesions. Main Outcomes and Measures: The model simulated death, myocardial infarction, and repeat revascularization. Future medical costs and benefits were discounted by 4.5% per year. The main outcomes were quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), direct medical costs, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), and incremental net monetary benefit (INB) of FFR-guided PCI compared with angiography-guided PCI. State-transition Markov models were applied to the Korean, US, and European health care systems using medical cost (presented in US dollars), utilities data, and transition probabilities from meta-analysis of previous trials. Results: The FRAME-AMI trial randomized 562 patients, with a mean (SD) age of 63.3 (11.4) years. Most patients were men (474 [84.3%]). Fractional flow reserve-guided PCI increased QALYs by 0.06 compared with angiography-guided PCI. The total cumulative cost per patient was estimated as $1208 less for FFR-guided compared with angiography-guided PCI. The ICER was -$19 484 and the INB was $3378, indicating that FFR-guided PCI was more cost-effective for patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel disease. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed consistent results and the likelihood iteration of cost-effectiveness in FFR-guided PCI was 97%. When transition probabilities from the pairwise meta-analysis of the FLOWER-MI and FRAME-AMI trials were used, FFR-guided PCI was more cost-effective than angiography-guided PCI in the Korean, US, and European health care systems, with an INB of $3910, $8557, and $2210, respectively. In probabilistic sensitivity analysis, the likelihood iteration of cost-effectiveness with FFR-guided PCI was 85%, 82%, and 31% for the Korean, US, and European health care systems, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: This cost-effectiveness analysis suggests that FFR-guided PCI for non-IRA lesions saved medical costs and increased quality of life better than angiography-guided PCI for patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel disease. Fractional flow reserve-guided PCI should be considered in determining the treatment strategy for non-IRA stenoses in these patients. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02715518.