Revascularization in stable coronary artery disease: a combined perspective from an interventional cardiologist and a cardiac surgeon

Revascularization or optimal medical therapy for stable ischemic heart disease: A Bayesian meta-analysis of contemporary trials

BACKGROUND

The role of revascularization in patients with stable ischemic heart disease (SIHD) has been controversial, more so in the present era of drug-eluting stents.

AIMS

To examine the absolute risk difference (ARD) between revascularization plus optimal medical therapy (OMT) versus OMT alone among patients with SIHD using Bayesian approach.

METHODS

PubMed/MEDLINE and Cochrane citation indices were utilized to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) through March 31, 2020. Among trials comparing initial revascularization plus OMT with initial OMT alone, revascularization arm must have comprised >50% of patients receiving either percutaneous or surgical revascularization, and >50% of patients must have received aspirin and statin as OMT in both arms.

RESULTS

Seven RCTs (12,494) were included in the final analysis. The ARD of all-cause mortality for revascularization with respect to OMT was centred at -0.002 (95% CrI: -0.01; 0.01, Tau: 0.01, 67% probability of ARD of revascularization vs. OMT < 0). The ARD for cardiac mortality was centred at -0.0025 (95%CrI: -0.01; 0.01, Tau: 0.01, 77% probability of ARD of revascularization vs. OMT < 0). The ARD for MI was -0.02 (95% CrI: -0.06; 0.00, Tau: 0.02, 97% probability of ARD for revascularization vs. OMT < 0). There was 96% probability of ARD for unstable angina with revascularization vs. OMT < 0, 4.5% probability of ARD for freedom from angina with revascularization vs. OMT < 0, and 6% probability of ARD for stroke with revascularization vs. OMT < 0.

CONCLUSIONS

Bayesian analysis demonstrated minimal probability of difference in all-cause mortality and cardiac mortality in patients with SIHD who underwent revascularization compared with OMT alone. However, revascularization was associated with lower probability of MI, unstable angina, and increased freedom from angina, but a higher risk of stroke compared with OMT alone.

PROSPERO

The protocol of this systematic review and meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO [CRD42020160540].

Short- and Long-Term Prognosis of Intravascular Ultrasound-Versus Angiography-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Meta-Analysis Involving 24,783 Patients

Background

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has potential benefits. This meta-analysis aimed to explore whether IVUS-guided PCI had better short- and long-term prognoses than angiography-guided PCI.

Methods

We retrieved studies from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Clinical trials including retrospective and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared IVUS-guided PCI with angiography-guided PCI were included. The patients were followed up after operation at 30 days, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years. The clinical outcomes were target lesion revascularization (TLR), target vessel revascularization (TVR), and MACEs, including stent thrombosis (ST), myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac death, and all-cause death. The study population included patients with MI, coronary bifurcation lesions, short or long lesions, and unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis (ULMCA). The quality of retrospective trials was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and the quality of randomized controlled trials was evaluated using the Jadad score. A total of 20 clinical trials met the criteria. Three trials were randomized controlled trials, while 17 were retrospective trials.

Results

A total of 24,783 patients were included. In observational trials, the OR of MACEs was 0.49 (95% CI: 0.38-0.62) in 30 days, 0.65 (95% CI: 0.58-0.73) in one year, 0.51 (95% CI: 0.36-0.71) in two years, and 0.45 (95% CI: 0.31-0.65) in three years. In patients with long coronary lesions, the OR of MACEs in 1 year was 0.64 (95% CI: 0.28-1.50). In patients with left main artery disease, the OR of MACEs in 3 years was 0.42 (95% CI: 0.26-0.67). Compared with angiography-guided PCI, IVUS-guided PCI was associated with a lower incidence of MACEs during the same following period.

Conclusion

Compared with angiography-guided PCI, IVUS-guided PCI has better performance in reducing the occurrence of MACEs.

Redevelopment and validation of the SYNTAX score II to individualise decision making between percutaneous and surgical revascularisation in patients with complex coronary artery disease: secondary analysis of the multicentre randomised controlled SYNTAXES trial with external cohort validation

BACKGROUND

Randomised controlled trials are considered the gold standard for testing the efficacy of novel therapeutic interventions, and typically report the average treatment effect as a summary result. As the result of treatment can vary between patients, basing treatment decisions for individual patients on the overall average treatment effect could be suboptimal. We aimed to develop an individualised decision making tool to select an optimal revascularisation strategy in patients with complex coronary artery disease.

METHODS

The SYNTAX Extended Survival (SYNTAXES) study is an investigator-driven extension follow-up of a multicentre, randomised controlled trial done in 85 hospitals across 18 North American and European countries between March, 2005, and April, 2007. Patients with de-novo three-vessel and left main coronary artery disease were randomly assigned (1:1) to either the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) group or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) group. The SYNTAXES study ascertained 10-year all-cause deaths. We used Cox regression to develop a clinical prognostic index for predicting death over a 10-year period, which was combined, in a second stage, with assigned treatment (PCI or CABG) and two prespecified effect-modifiers, which were selected on the basis of previous evidence: disease type (three-vessel disease or left main coronary artery disease) and anatomical SYNTAX score. We used similar techniques to develop a model to predict the 5-year risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (defined as a composite of all-cause death, non-fatal stroke, or non-fatal myocardial infarction) in patients receiving PCI or CABG. We then assessed the ability of these models to predict the risk of death or a major adverse cardiovascular event, and their differences (ie, the estimated benefit of CABG versus PCI by calculating the absolute risk difference between the two strategies) by cross-validation with the SYNTAX trial (n=1800 participants) and external validation in the pooled population (n=3380 participants) of the FREEDOM, BEST, and PRECOMBAT trials. The concordance (C)-index was used to measure discriminative ability, and calibration plots were used to assess the degree of agreement between predictions and observations.

FINDINGS

At cross-validation, the newly developed SYNTAX score II, termed SYNTAX score II 2020, showed a helpful discriminative ability in both treatment groups for predicting 10-year all-cause deaths (C-index=0·73 [95% CI 0·69-0·76] for PCI and 0·73 [0·69-0·76] for CABG) and 5-year major adverse cardiovascular events (C-index=0·65 [0·61-0·69] for PCI and C-index=0·71 [0·67-0·75] for CABG). At external validation, the SYNTAX score II 2020 showed helpful discrimination (C-index=0·67 [0·63-0·70] for PCI and C-index=0·62 [0·58-0·66] for CABG) and good calibration for predicting 5-year major adverse cardiovascular events. The estimated treatment benefit of CABG over PCI varied substantially among patients in the trial population, and the benefit predictions were well calibrated.

INTERPRETATION

The SYNTAX score II 2020 for predicting 10-year deaths and 5-year major adverse cardiovascular events can help to identify individuals who will benefit from either CABG or PCI, thereby supporting heart teams, patients, and their families to select optimal revascularisation strategies.

FUNDING

The German Heart Research Foundation and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Mapping decision making for bypass surgery in the era of interventional medicine: towards an integrative model of patient-centeredness

This article reviews the context and evidence of recent myocardial revascularization trials on PCI versus CABG with particular emphasis on patient selection and treatment of surgical patients. Moreover, one of our intended purposes is to identify the values underpinning the integrated care model, which incorporates decision to proceed with surgical myocardial revascularization in conjunction with established pillars of the use of optimal surgical techniques, and aggressive risk-factor modification through guideline-directed pharmacological therapies and lifestyle modifications.

When the Complex Meets the High-Risk: Mechanical Cardiac Support Devices and Percutaneous Coronary Interventions in Severe Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Few practice guidelines directly address the issue of revascularization in patients with CAD at higher risk of periprocedural complications. It remains a challenge to appropriately identify the subset of patients with CAD who will require short-term use of mechanical cardiocirculatory support devices (MCSDs) when high-risk (HR) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is required. Issues of the complexity (coronary anatomy and high burden of comorbidities) and risk status (hemodynamic precarity or compromise) need to be considered when considering revascularization in patients. This review will focus on the evolving concept of protected PCI in patients with CAD, and how a balanced, integrated heart-team approach remains the path to optimal patient-centred care in the setting of HR-PCI supported with MCSD.

Emerging roles for RNA-binding proteins as effectors and regulators of cardiovascular disease

The cardiovascular system comprises multiple cell types that possess the capacity to modulate their phenotype in response to acute or chronic injury. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms play a key role in the regulation of remodelling and regenerative responses to damaged cardiovascular tissues. Simultaneously, insufficient regulation of cellular phenotype is tightly coupled with the persistence and exacerbation of cardiovascular disease. Recently, RNA-binding proteins such as Quaking, HuR, Muscleblind, and SRSF1 have emerged as pivotal regulators of these functional adaptations in the cardiovascular system by guiding a wide-ranging number of post-transcriptional events that dramatically impact RNA fate, including alternative splicing, stability, localization and translation. Moreover, homozygous disruption of RNA-binding protein genes is commonly associated with cardiac- and/or vascular complications. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on the versatile role of RNA-binding proteins in regulating the transcriptome during phenotype switching in cardiovascular health and disease. We also detail existing and potential DNA- and RNA-based therapeutic approaches that could impact the treatment of cardiovascular disease in the future.