Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether stable, high-risk patients with persistent total occlusion of the infarct-related coronary artery identified after the currently accepted period for myocardial salvage has passed should undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in addition to receiving optimal medical therapy to reduce the risk of subsequent events. METHODS: We conducted a randomized study involving 2166 stable patients who had total occlusion of the infarct-related artery 3 to 28 days after myocardial infarction and who met a high-risk criterion (an ejection fraction of <50% or proximal occlusion). Of these patients, 1082 were assigned to routine PCI and stenting with optimal medical therapy, and 1084 were assigned to optimal medical therapy alone. The primary end point was a composite of death, myocardial reinfarction, or New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV heart failure. RESULTS: The 4-year cumulative primary event rate was 17.2% in the PCI group and 15.6% in the medical therapy group (hazard ratio for death, reinfarction, or heart failure in the PCI group as compared with the medical therapy group, 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92 to 1.45; P=0.20). Rates of myocardial reinfarction (fatal and nonfatal) were 7.0% and 5.3% in the two groups, respectively (hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 0.92 to 2.00; P=0.13). Rates of nonfatal reinfarction were 6.9% and 5.0%, respectively (hazard ratio, 1.44; 95% CI, 0.96 to 2.16; P=0.08); only six reinfarctions (0.6%) were related to assigned PCI procedures. Rates of NYHA class IV heart failure (4.4% vs. 4.5%) and death (9.1% vs. 9.4%) were similar. There was no interaction between treatment effect and any subgroup variable (age, sex, race or ethnic group, infarct-related artery, ejection fraction, diabetes, Killip class, and the time from myocardial infarction to randomization). CONCLUSIONS: PCI did not reduce the occurrence of death, reinfarction, or heart failure, and there was a trend toward excess reinfarction during 4 years of follow-up in stable patients with occlusion of the infarct-related artery 3 to 28 days after myocardial infarction. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00004562 [ClinicalTrials.gov].)

BACKGROUND: In the present study, we sought to determine whether opening a persistently occluded infarct-related artery (IRA) by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients beyond the acute phase of myocardial infarction (MI) improves patency and indices of left ventricular (LV) size and function. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between May 2000 and July 2005, 381 patients with an occluded native IRA 3 to 28 days after MI (median 10 days) were randomized to PCI with stenting (PCI) or optimal medical therapy alone. Repeat coronary and LV angiography was performed 1 year after randomization (n=332, 87%). Coprimary end points were IRA patency and change in LV ejection fraction. Secondary end points included change in LV end-systolic and end-diastolic volume indices and wall motion. PCI was successful in 92%. At 1 year, 83% of PCI versus 25% of medical therapy-only patients had a patent IRA (P<0.001). LV ejection fraction increased significantly (P<0.001) in both groups, with no between-group difference: PCI 4.2+/-8.9 (n=150) versus medical therapy 3.5+/-8.2 (n=136; P=0.47). Median change (interquartile range) in LV end-systolic volume index was -0.5 (-9.3 to 5.0) versus 1.0 (-5.7 to 7.3) mL/m2 (P=0.10), whereas median change (interquartile range) in LV end-diastolic volume index was 3.2 (-8.2 to 13.3) versus 5.3 (-4.6 to 23.2) mL/m2 (P=0.07) in the PCI (n=86) and medical therapy-only (n=76) groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PCI with stenting of a persistently occluded IRA in the subacute phase after MI effectively maintains long-term patency but has no effect on LV ejection fraction. On the basis of these findings and the lack of clinical benefit in the main Occluded Artery Trial, routine PCI is not recommended for stable patients with a persistently occluded IRA after MI

We evaluated temporal trends in the use of early (<48 hours) catheterization in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes with respect to baseline risk features since publication of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines, which include a class IA recommendation for an early invasive strategy for high-risk patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes. Overall, we found that early catheterization use increased from 53% to 61% during the 3 years after the guidelines were released, but the increased use of early catheterization was highest (11%) in the group that was at lowest risk of predicted mortality, and it was lowest (6%) in the group at highest risk of predicted mortality who would potentially receive the most benefit from an aggressive treatment approach. In conclusion, despite the overall increase in the use of early catheterization, the gap between the use of an early invasive strategy in the highest and lowest risk patients remains large and tends to increase over time

In patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) complicating acute myocardial infarction, echocardiographic and angiographic findings are used to aid diagnosis, determine prognosis, and guide management. The purpose of this analysis from the Should we emergently revascularize Occluded Coronary arteries for Cardiogenic ShocK (SHOCK) trial is to identify relations between the angiographic and echocardiographic features of patients with CS. Such an analysis of the correlations between echocardiographic and angiographic findings in patients with CS may provide insights into the etiology and treatment of CS. In 302 randomized patients, an echocardiogram and an angiogram before revascularization were available in 127 patients. Although the median ejection fraction derived by echocardiography and left ventricular angiography was identical (30%), the positive correlation was weak (R2 = 0.209, p = 0.019). Patients with a larger number of diseased vessels had worse mitral regurgitation (MR) by echocardiography (p = 0.005). There was a significant but weak association between left ventricular angiographic MR grade and echocardiographic MR severity (R2 = 0.162, p = 0.015), but there was no association between culprit vessel and degree of MR. In conclusion, worse coronary artery disease is associated with more severe MR. Echocardiography and angiography are valuable and result in similar estimated ejection fractions in a large cohort, but there is wide variation between the techniques in patients