Treatment variation in stent choice in patients with stable or unstable coronary artery disease

Effect of drug-eluting stents on 1-year risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with percutaneous coronary intervention

The use of a drug-eluting stent (DES) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention is conventional. However, the effect of DES on new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) after AMI still remains unclear.By using data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, a total of 17,741 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and 17,631 patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention were analyzed to investigate the risk of new-onset AF after index admission of AMI.There were 26.5% (N = 4696) of patients with STEMI and 39.5% (N = 6967) of patients with NSTEMI received DES implantation. Upon 1-year follow-up, we observed that DES placement was associated with a reduced 1-year risk of new-onset AF in the patients with NSTEMI (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.59-0.93, P = .009) after adjustment for clinical relevant variables. This benefit was consistent with that in the patients with NSTEMI who were ≥75 years old, had a CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥2, and did not receive intra-aortic balloon pump insertion (aHR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.53-0.98, P = .039; aHR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.586-0.92, P = .006; and aHR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.56-0.90, P = .004; respectively). However, DES placement had a neutral effect on the risk of new-onset AF in the patients with STEMI.Compared with the use of BMS, the use of DES might reduce the risk of new-onset AF in patients with NSTEMI.

Palliative treatment of coronary "atherosclerotic cancer" by drug-eluting or bare-metal stents: From oculo-stenotic reflex period to age of precision medicine

Medications and treatments are said to have a palliative effect if they relieve symptoms without having a curative effect on the underlying disease such as atherosclerosis or cancer. Some authors speculated that atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) could be considered a "cancer of the coronary arterial wall". Although the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has proven to be effective in decreasing mortality rates among patients with acute coronary syndromes, the previous meta-analyses of PCI versus optimal medical therapy for stable CAD have not been able to demonstrate a reduction in major adverse cardiac outcomes. However, few cardiologists discussed the evidence-based benefits of angiogram and PCI for stable CAD, and some implicitly or explicitly overstated the benefits. Recently, the precision medicine is defined as an evidence-based approach that uses innovative tools and biological and data science to customize disease prevention, detection, and treatment, and improve the effectiveness and quality of patient care. Providing patients with accurate and complete information appears to be an effective way to combat the reliance on the oculostenotic reflex. The foundation of precision medicine is the ability to tailor therapy based upon the expected risks and benefits of treatment for each individual patient. As said by Doctor William Osler, "The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease."