Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare survival after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in high-risk anatomic subsets. BACKGROUND: Compared with medical therapy, CABG decreases mortality in patients with three-vessel disease and two-vessel disease involving the proximal left anterior descending artery (LAD), particularly if left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is present. How survival after PTCA and CABG compares in these high-risk anatomic subsets is unknown. METHODS: In the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI), 1,829 patients with multivessel disease were randomized to an initial strategy of PTCA or CABG between 1988 and 1991. Stents and IIb/IIIa inhibitors were not utilized. Since patients in BARI with diabetes mellitus had greater survival with CABG, separate analyses of patients without diabetes were performed. RESULTS: Seven-year survival among patients with three-vessel disease undergoing PTCA and CABG (n = 754) was 79% versus 84% (p = 0.06), respectively, and 85% versus 87% (p = 0.36) when only non-diabetics (n = 592) were analyzed. In patients with three-vessel disease and reduced LV function (ejection fraction <50%), seven-year survival was 70% versus 74% (p = 0.6) in all PTCA and CABG patients (n = 176), and 82% versus 73% (p = 0.29) among non-diabetic patients (n = 124). Seven-year survival was 87% versus 84% (p = 0.9) in all PTCA and CABG patients (including diabetics) with two-vessel disease involving the proximal LAD (n = 352), and 78% versus 71% (p = 0.7) in patients with two-vessel disease involving the proximal LAD with reduced LV function (n = 72). CONCLUSION: In high-risk anatomic subsets in which survival is prolonged by CABG versus medical therapy, revascularization by PTCA and CABG yielded equivalent survival over seven years

BACKGROUND: The Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI) included 4039 patients with multivessel coronary artery disease; 1829 consented to randomization, and 2010 did not but were followed up in a registry. Thus, we can evaluate the outcome of physician-guided versus random assignment of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) versus coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). METHODS AND RESULTS: We compared the baseline features and outcomes for PTCA and CABG in the overall registry and its predesignated subgroups. We assessed the impact of treatment by choice versus random assignment by comparing the results in the registry with those of the randomized trial. Statistical adjustments for differences in baseline characteristics were made. Within the registry, nearly twice as many patients were selected for PTCA (1189) as CABG (625); mortality at 7 years was similar for PTCA (13.9%) and CABG (14.2%) (P=0.66) before and after adjustment for baseline differences between patients selected for PTCA versus CABG (adjusted RR, 1.02; P=0.86). In contrast to the randomized trial, the 7-year mortality rate of treated diabetics in the registry was equally high (26%) with PTCA or CABG. Seven-year mortality was higher for patients undergoing PTCA in the randomized trial than in the registry (19.1% versus 13.9%, P<0.01) but not for those undergoing CABG (15.6% versus 14.2%, P=0.57). The adjusted relative mortality risk for PTCA in the randomized versus registry population was 1.17 (P=0.16). CONCLUSIONS: BARI physicians were able to select PTCA rather than CABG for 65% of registry patients who underwent revascularization without compromising long-term survival either in the overall population or in treated diabetics

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and prognostic importance of lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease. BACKGROUND: The presence of clinically evident LEAD increases the risk of death in patients with known coronary artery disease. Because studies have lacked noninvasive measures of subclinical LEAD, the true prognostic importance of lower extremity atherosclerosis in this population has probably been underestimated. METHODS: Ankle blood pressures were measured in 405 consecutive patients with angiographically documented multivessel coronary disease from seven Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI) sites and a parallel study site within 3 years of enrollment. Lower extremity arterial disease was defined as an ankle/arm systolic blood pressure ratio of 0.90 or less. RESULTS: Among patients studied, 69 (17%) had LEAD. These patients were more likely to be current smokers, treated for diabetes, older and present with unstable angina compared with patients without LEAD. Among patients who underwent coronary arterial bypass grafting, major complications occurred in 2.8% of those without LEAD compared with 20.7% of those with LEAD (p = 0.002). Five-year mortality rates were similar for symptomatic LEAD (14%) and asymptomatic LEAD (14%). Patients without LEAD had a 3% mortality. After adjusting for baseline differences, the relative risk of death was 4.9 times greater for patients with LEAD compared with those without (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8, 13.4, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with LEAD have a significantly higher risk of death than patients without LEAD, regardless of the presence of symptoms. An abnormal ankle/arm index is a strong predictor of mortality and can be used to further stratify risk among patients with multivessel coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Risks of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) may be different in the presence of peripheral vascular disease (PVD). METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed outcomes of 550 patients with PVD enrolled in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation randomized trial and registry. Compared with 1770 patients without PVD, those with PVD were older and had a greater prevalence of medical comorbid conditions. No significant differences in coronary anatomy or PTCA success rates were found. The risk of any major complication (death, myocardial infarction, stroke, coma, or emergency revascularization) after PTCA was significantly higher among patients with PVD (11.7% versus 7.8%, P=0.027). In multivariate analysis, this represented a 50% increase in the odds of having any major complication (multivariate odds ratio, 1.5; P=0. 032). Among patients undergoing CABG, the risk of major complications was found to be markedly higher for patients with PVD (12%) than those without (6.1%, P=0.003) even after controlling for baseline differences (multivariate odds ratio, 1.8; P=0.018). Major differences between the PTCA and CABG groups were related primarily to a higher risk of neurological complications in PVD patients who had CABG (multivariate odds ratio, 2.8; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that patients with PVD are at high risk for periprocedural complications after myocardial revascularization, in particular neurological events

BACKGROUND: The influence of age on the relative success of either percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients requiring myocardial revascularization continues to be controversial. METHODS: In the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI) trial, 1,829 patients with symptomatic multivessel coronary artery disease requiring revascularization were randomly assigned to undergo either CABG or PTCA. RESULTS: Seven hundred nine patients (39%) were 65 to 80 years old at baseline; the other 1,120 were younger than 65 years. The in-hospital 30-day mortality rate for PTCA and CABG in the younger patients was 0.7% and 1.1%, respectively, and that for patients 65 years or older was 1.7% and 1.7%, respectively. In older compared with younger patients, stroke was more common after CABG (1.7% versus 0.2%, p = 0.015) and heart failure or pulmonary edema was more common after PTCA (4.0 versus 1.3%, p = 0.011). In both age groups, CABG resulted in greater relief of angina and fewer repeat procedures. The 5-year survival rate in patients younger than 65 years was 91.5% for CABG and 89.5% for PTCA. In patients 65 years or older, the 5-year survival rate was 85.7% for CABG and 81.4% for PTCA. Cardiac mortality at 5 years was greater in patients assigned to the PTCA group than in those assigned to the CABG group. However, no significant treatment differences were noted in cardiac mortality when only nondiabetic patients were examined. CONCLUSIONS: Within the context of the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation trial, older patients with multivessel coronary disease do well with either PTCA or CABG. Compared with younger patients, older patients had less recurrent angina and were less likely to undergo repeat procedures, particularly among those assigned to undergo CABG. Cardiac mortality was greater in patients 65 years or older assigned to undergo PTCA; however, this difference was not noted when treated diabetic patients were excluded from analysis