Percutaneous coronary intervention versus coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Cumulative meta-analysis

[Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in High-Risk Patients]

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) with severe coronary artery disease (SYNTAX score >22 points) in combination with various comorbidities is often a reason for refusal of coronary artery bypass grafting in such patients. Thus, a new term has emerged, "high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention"; however, the criteria, indications and results of these interventions have not yet been sufficiently studied. Therefore, according to current clinical guidelines, the treatment tactics for this patient cohort is determined by the decision of a council, the so-called Heart Team. This analytical review summarizes the criteria for high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions based on the literature, and describes the effect of various comorbidities on the results of direct myocardial revascularization.

Efficacy and safety of guanxinshutong capsule combined with western medicine on stable angina pectoris: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aims: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Guanxinshutong capsule (GXST) combined with Western medicine (WM) in treating stable angina pectoris (SAP). Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy of GXST combined with WM for the treatment of patients with SAP were searched across several databases, including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and Wan Fang, from inception until 30 April 2024. Two independent reviewers rigorously performed study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2) was employed to assess the methodological quality of included RCTs. R version 4.2.2 was applied for data synthesis. Results: Between 2012 and 2024, 31 RCTs involving 4,172 patients were identified, with 2,101 in the experimental group and 2,071 in the control group. GXST and WM combination was significantly more effective than WM alone across several metrics: clinical efficacy rate (odds ratio [OR] = 4.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.42-4.80), electrocardiogram improvement (OR = 3.39, 95% CI = 2.35-4.87), enhancement in left ventricular ejection fraction (mean difference [MD] = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.69-1.46), reduction in total cholesterol levels (MD = -0.78, 95% CI = -1.20 to -0.35), decrease in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (MD = -1.36, 95% CI = -2.18 to -0.53), and improvement in Chinese medicine evidence score (OR = 3.77, 95% CI = 2.20-6.43). No significant difference was observed in the reduction in C-reactive protein levels (MD = -6.66, 95% CI = -15.91 to 2.59), triglyceride levels (MD = -1.62, 95% CI = -3.39 to 0.15), or in the occurrence of adverse drug reactions (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.23-1.57). Based on meta-regression and subgroup analyses, the observed heterogeneity was attributed to variations in GXST capsule dosage, the duration of treatment, and the baseline characteristics of patients. Conclusion: GXST and WM combination therapy demonstrates the potential to enhance clinical outcomes for SAP patients. Nevertheless, additional rigorous studies are imperative to substantiate the reliability and safety of this combined treatment modality. Systematic Review Registration: The protocols for this meta-analysis were registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=543537, Identifier CRD42024543537).

A Prospective Study on Activities of Daily Living, Comfort, Body Image, and Cardiac Symptoms in Coronary Artery Bypass Patients

BACKGROUND

A coronary artery bypass graft procedure reduces mortality for cardiovascular patients, but those undergoing it often face negative body perception, loss of daily activities, and lingering symptoms, hindering full functional recovery and comfort.

AIM

To compare the comfort level, activities of daily living, and body image based on certain characteristics of patients at baseline, (ii) Evaluate changes over time in levels of discomfort, activities of daily living, body image, and cardiac symptoms before and after CABG surgery within three months.

METHOD

This descriptive prospective cohort study comprised 50 patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass surgery. The study examined cardiac symptoms, comfort levels, daily activities, and multidimensional body-self relationships as its outcomes.

RESULTS

A Friedman test revealed that patients' body image, comfort levels, activities of daily living, and each heart symptom were significantly influenced by the time of day. According to this study, patients most frequently reported experiencing exhaustion, depression, and worry as cardiac symptoms. Only the comfort level exhibited a high correlation with each heart symptom, as indicated by Spearman's rho analysis.

CONCLUSION

The body image, comfort level, activities of daily living, and cardiac symptoms of patients changed over time. Therefore, regular assessments of these symptoms during the pre- and post-operative periods could offer valuable insights into patients' needs. This information can be instrumental in developing interventions that address patients' well-being and may positively impact patient outcomes.

In-Hospital Mortality in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Literature Overview

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) continues to be a predominant cause of global morbidity and mortality, with in-hospital mortality (IHM) serving as a pivotal metric for patient outcomes. This review explores the influence of several clinical variables on IHM in individuals with AMI. Factors such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking habits, existing comorbidities, prior coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and biomarkers, including high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), significantly affect the prognosis of the patient. Advanced age and comorbid conditions such as diabetes and hypertension exacerbate myocardial damage and systemic impacts, thus increasing IHM. Gender and BMI are also critical, and women and patients with obesity face different risks. Smoking increases both the risk of AMI and IHM, underscoring the importance of cessation interventions. ST-elevation myocardial infarction is associated with elevated IHM and requires immediate reperfusion therapy, while non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction requires customized management for risk assessment. Previous CABG and PCI add complexity to AMI treatment and elevate IHM due to pre-existing coronary pathology and the intricacies of the procedures involved. The application of biomarker-centered techniques facilitates the swift identification of individuals at elevated risk, improves therapeutic planning, and reduces IHM for patients with AMI. Understanding and incorporating these clinical determinants are essential to optimize the management of AMI, minimize IHM, and improve patient outcomes. This all-encompassing strategy requires ongoing research, quality improvement efforts, and personalized care approaches.

The Degrees of Coronary Heart Disease and the Degrees of New-Onset Blepharitis: A Nationwide Cohort Study

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between the severity of coronary heart disease (CHD) and the subsequent severity of blepharitis. This retrospective population-based cohort study was conducted using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan. The participants with a CHD diagnosis were divided into mild CHD and severe CHD groups at a 1:2 ratio, according to whether percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed. The main outcomes were the development of blepharitis and severe blepharitis with the application of antibiotics. Cox proportional hazard regression was performed to obtain the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for blepharitis, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) between the groups. There were 22,161 and 15,369 blepharitis events plus 9597 and 4500 severe blepharitis episodes in the mild and severe CHD groups, respectively. The severe CHD group showed a significantly higher incidence of blepharitis development (aHR, 1.275; 95% CI: 1.051-1.912, p = 0.0285), whereas the incidence of severe blepharitis was not significantly different between the groups (aHR, 0.981; 95% CI: 0.945-1.020, p = 0.3453). The cumulative probability of blepharitis was significantly higher in the severe CHD group than in the mild CHD group (p < 0.001). In the subgroup analyses, the correlation between severe CHD and blepharitis was more significant in patients older than 70 years compared to the younger group (p = 0.0115). In conclusion, severe CHD is associated with a higher incidence of blepharitis than mild CHD, and this correlation is more prominent in individuals older than 70 years.

Impact of Advanced Age on the Incidence of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Stable Coronary Artery Disease in a Real-World Setting in Spain

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD) without myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke are at high risk for major cardiovascular events (MACEs). We aimed to provide real-world data on age-related clinical characteristics, treatment management, and incidence of major cardiovascular outcomes in T2DM-CAD patients in Spain from 2014 to 2018. We used EHRead® technology, which is based on natural language processing and machine learning, to extract unstructured clinical information from electronic health records (EHRs) from 12 hospitals. Of the 4072 included patients, 30.9% were younger than 65 years (66.3% male), 34.2% were aged 65-75 years (66.4% male), and 34.8% were older than 75 years (54.3% male). These older patients were more likely to have hypertension (OR 2.85), angina (OR 1.64), heart valve disease (OR 2.13), or peripheral vascular disease (OR 2.38) than those aged <65 years (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). In general, they were also more likely to receive pharmacological and interventional treatments. Moreover, these patients had a significantly higher risk of MACEs (HR 1.29; p = 0.003) and ischemic stroke (HR 2.39; p < 0.001). In summary, patients with T2DM-CAD in routine clinical practice tend to be older, have more comorbidities, are more heavily treated, and have a higher risk of developing MACE than is commonly assumed from clinical trial data.

7-year outcomes in diabetic patients after coronary artery bypass graft in a developing country

BACKGROUND

Revascularization in diabetic patients with coronary artery disease remains a challenge in cardiology practice. Although clinical trials have reported the mid-term superiority of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery over percutaneous coronary intervention in these patients, little is known about the long-term outcomes of CABG in diabetic patients compared to non-diabetics, particularly in developing countries.

METHODS

Between 2007 and 2016, we recruited all patients who underwent isolated CABG in a tertiary care cardiovascular center in a developing country. The patients were followed at 3-6 months and 12 months after surgery, and then annually. The study endpoints were 7-year all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE).

RESULTS

Of 23,873 patients (17,529 males, mean age 65.67 years) who underwent CABG, 9227 (38.65%) patients were diagnosed with diabetes. After adjustment for potential confounders, patients with diabetes experienced a 31% increase in MACCE seven years after surgery compared to the non-diabetic patients (HR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.25-1.38, P-value < 0.0001). Meanwhile, diabetes contributes to a 52% increase in the risk of all-cause mortality after CABG (HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.42-1.61, P-value < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed a higher risk of all-cause mortality and MACCE at seven years in diabetic patients undergoing isolated CABG. The outcomes in the studied center in a developing country were comparable to western centers. The high incidence of adverse outcomes in the long term in diabetic patients implies that not only short-term but long-term measures should be taken to improve the CABG outcomes in this challenging patient population.

Clinical implications of inflammation in atheroma formation and novel therapies in cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading causes of death and disability in the world. Among all CVD, the most common is coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD results from the complications promoted by atherosclerosis, which is characterized by the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaques that limit and block the blood flow of the arteries involved in heart oxygenation. Atherosclerotic disease is usually treated by stents implantation and angioplasty, but these surgical interventions also favour thrombosis and restenosis which often lead to device failure. Hence, efficient and long-lasting therapeutic options that are easily accessible to patients are in high demand. Advanced technologies including nanotechnology or vascular tissue engineering may provide promising solutions for CVD. Moreover, advances in the understanding of the biological processes underlying atherosclerosis can lead to a significant improvement in the management of CVD and even to the development of novel efficient drugs. To note, over the last years, the observation that inflammation leads to atherosclerosis has gained interest providing a link between atheroma formation and oncogenesis. Here, we have focused on the description of the available therapy for atherosclerosis, including surgical treatment and experimental treatment, the mechanisms of atheroma formation, and possible novel therapeutic candidates such as the use of anti-inflammatory treatments to reduce CVD.

Acute coronary syndromes in diabetic patients, outcome, revascularization, and antithrombotic therapy

Diabetes exacerbates the progression of atherosclerosis and is associated with increased risk of developing acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Approximatively 25-30% of patients admitted for ACS have diabetes. ACS occurs earlier in diabetics and is associated with increased mortality and a higher risk of recurrent ischemic events. An increased proinflammatory and prothrombotic state is involved in the poorer outcomes of diabetic patients. In the past decade advancement in both percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery by-pass graft (CABG) techniques and more potent antiplatelet drugs like prasugrel and ticagrelor improved outcomes of diabetic patients with ACS, but this population still experiences worse outcomes compared to non-diabetic patients. While in ST elevation myocardial infarction urgent PCI is the method of choice for revascularization, in patients with non-ST elevation ACS an early invasive approach is suggested by the guidelines, but in the setting of multivessel (MV) or complex coronary artery disease (CAD) the revascularization strategy is less clear. This review describes the accumulating evidence regarding factors involved in promoting increased incidence and poor prognosis of ACS in patients with diabetes, the evolution over time of prognosis and outcomes, revascularization strategies and antithrombotic therapy studied until now.

Reassessing Revascularization Strategies in Coronary Artery Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is still controversial in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Here, we aimed to evaluate the long-term follow-up events of PCI and CABG in these populations. Relevant randomized controlled trials were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane databases. The pooled results were represented as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with STATA software. A total of six trials with 1,766 patients who received CABG and 2,262 patients who received PCI were included in our study. Patients in the CABG group were significantly associated with a lower all-cause mortality compared with those in the PCI group (RR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.56–0.98, P = 0.037). Cardiac mortality, recurrent myocardial infarction, and repeat revascularization were also significantly lower in the CABG group (RR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.40–1.53, P = 0.479; RR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.32–1.56, P = 0.387; and RR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.28–0.46, P < 0.0001; respectively). However, compared with the PCI group, the cerebral vascular accident was higher in the CABG group (RR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.43–3.33, P < 0.0001). There was no publication bias in our study. CABG revascularization was associated with significantly lower long-term adverse clinical outcomes, except cerebral vascular accident, compared with PCI in patients with CAD and T2DM.

Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42020216014.

Percutaneous coronary intervention versus coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Cumulative meta-analysis

Previous meta‐analyses showed that coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has lower all‐cause mortality than percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the management of coronary heart disease (CHD), but the long‐term outcomes were not analyzed thoroughly in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). To perform a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to explore the long‐term effectiveness between CABG and PCI in patients with T2DM and study the temporal trends using a cumulative meta‐analysis. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and Clinical Trials Registry for eligible RCTs published up to September 2020. The outcomes were all‐cause death, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization, and stroke. Nine RCTs and 4566 patients were included. CABG resulted in better outcomes than PCI in terms of all‐cause death (RR = 1.41, 95%CI: 1.22–1.63, p < 0.001), cardiac death (RR = 1.56, 95%CI: 1.25–1.95, p < 0.001), and repeat revascularization (RR = 2.68, 95%CI: 1.86–3.85, p < 0.001), but with difference regarding the occurrence of myocardial infarction (RR = 1.20, 95%CI: 0.78–1.85, p = 0.414), while PCI was associated with better outcomes in terms of stroke occurrence (RR = 0.51, 95%CI: 0.34–0.77, p = 0.001). The cumulative meta‐analysis for all‐cause death showed that the differences between CABG and PCI started to be significant at 3 years of follow‐up, while the difference became significant at 5 years for cardiac death. In patients with CHD and T2DM, CABG results in better outcomes than PCI in terms of all‐cause death, cardiac mortality, and repeat revascularization, while PCI had better outcomes in terms of stroke. The differences are mainly observed over the long‐term follow‐up.