Three-year prognosis of Japanese patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated with sirolimus-eluting stents

Clinical Impact of Circulating Irisin on Classified Coronary Plaque Characteristics

BACKGROUND

Myokines are hormones secreted by skeletal muscles during physical activity. Low myokine levels may contribute to metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular disorders. Irisin, a newly identified myokine, has been the focus of recent research. The aim of the present study was to analyze the association between circulating irisin levels and tissue characteristics of nonculprit left main coronary artery (LMCA) plaques with the use of integrated backscatter (IB) intravascular ultrasound (IVUS).

METHODS

This observational study enrolled 55 Japanese patients following successful percutaneous coronary intervention for lesions in the left anterior descending arteries or left circumflex arteries. Circulating myokine levels, including myostatin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and irisin, were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Tissue characteristics of LMCA plaque were evaluated by IB-IVUS.

RESULTS

Circulating irisin levels were negatively associated with percent lipid volume (%LV) [r = -0.31 (95% CI, -2.52 to -0.21), P = 0.02] and positively associated with percent fibrous volume (%FV) [r = 0.32 (95% CI, 0.22-2.20), P = 0.02]. The optimal cutoff value of circulating irisin for the prediction of lipid-rich LMCA plaques was 6.02 μg/mL [area under the curve = 0.713, P < 0.01 (95% CI, 0.58-0.85)]. Multivariate linear regression analysis identified circulating irisin levels as independent predictors for %LV and %FV of the LMCA [β = -0.29 (95% CI, -2.53 to -0.07), P = 0.04 and β = 0.30 (95% CI, 0.10-2.23), P = 0.03, respectively].

CONCLUSIONS

Circulating irisin levels are significantly associated with tissue characteristics of nonculprit LMCA plaques.

Very long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes after sirolimus- and paclitaxel-eluting stent placement for ST-elevation myocardial infarction: a propensity score-matched comparison

We conducted a retrospective examination of the very long-term outcomes of placing sirolimus (SES) and paclitaxel (PES)-eluting stents in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This was a nonrandomized, retrospective, single-center study that included 872 first STEMI patients who underwent successful placement of either SES (n = 547) or PES from November 2004 to April 2012. The primary end point was the incidence of severe cardiac events comprising cardiac death, nonfatal recurrent myocardial infarction, and definite stent thrombosis (ST). The frequency of target lesion revascularization (TLR) was also compared. A propensity score-matched analysis was used to adjust the 29 baseline variables. In the baseline-adjusted cohorts in 231 STEMI patients in each arm, the frequency of the primary end point in the SES group (5.6 %) during the follow-up duration of 2583 ± 806 days was not significantly different from that in the PES group (6.1 %, follow-up: 1866 ± 699 days). The cumulative primary end point-free ratio in the SES group was not significantly different from that in the PES group (p = 0.503). The frequency of TLR in the SES group (7.5 %) was significantly lower than that in the PES group (16.9 %, p = 0.005), with and the significantly higher cumulative TLR-free ratio in the SES group than that in the PES group (p < 0.001). The very long-term clinical outcomes after SES or PES placement for STEMI patients were statistically equivalent. SES showed the better angiographic outcomes for STEMI compared to PES.

Midterm outcomes of bare-metal stenting after primary stenting for ST-segment elevated myocardial infarctions in the drug-eluting stent era: a propensity score-matched comparison with sirolimus-eluting stent

We performed a propensity score-matching comparison of the midterm clinical and angiographic outcomes after primary stenting between using bare-metal stents (BMSs) and sirolimus-eluting stent (SES; Cypher Bx Velocity) for ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI), because, in the drug-eluting stent era, the indication of the BMSs when a large balloon diameter is required remained to be controversial. This was a single-center, nonrandomized, retrospective study investigated in October 2013 by enrolling STEMI patients treated with primary stenting using either SES (n = 468) or BMS (n = 171) between September 2004 and December 2011. In 204 patients, the baseline-adjusted values produced similar mean maximum balloon sizes (BMS 3.67 ± 0.47 mm; SES 3.70 ± 0.56 mm; p = 0.477), and the incidence rates of binary in-stent restenosis (% diameter stenosis >50 % on secondary angiography) after SES placement (7.8 %) was significantly lower than that after BMS placement (23.5 %; p = 0.002). In baseline-adjusted 300 patients, the incidence of the clinical endpoints comprising cardiac death, nonfatal recurrent MI, and definite stent thrombosis after SES placement (11.3 %; 1241 ± 786 days; p = 0.557) was not significantly different from after BMS placement (8.7 %; mean follow-up period, 549 ± 486 days; p = 0.557). SES was not significantly related to the clinical endpoint [hazard ratio 2.31; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.88-6.08; p = 0.089). BMS did not offset the SES's angiographic efficacy for primary stenting for STEMI patients, despite placed using a large-sized balloon.

Differences in tissue characterization of restenotic neointima between sirolimus-eluting stent and bare-metal stent: integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound analysis for in-stent restenosis

AIMS

The pathogenesis of in-stent restenosis (ISR) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to analyse tissue characterizations of neointima in restenosis lesions after sirolimus-eluting stent (SES), comparing with those after bare metal stent (BMS) using integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound (IB-IVUS).

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 54 consecutive patients who had ISR lesions after SES (n = 20) or BMS (n = 34) implantation were enrolled. For tissue characterization of neointima, IB-IVUS was performed by cross-sectional (at the minimum lumen area) and volumetric (within the stented segment) analyses. In addition, angiographic patterns of restenosis were evaluated with division into focal and diffuse. The focal angiographic pattern of restenosis was predominantly observed in the SES group (SES vs. BMS; 80.0 vs. 26.5%; P = 0.0001), whereas the diffuse pattern was more common in the BMS group (SES vs. BMS; 20.0 vs. 73.5%; P = 0.0001). On both cross-sectional and volumetric IB-IVUS analyses, the neointimal tissue in restenosis lesions after SES implantation had a significantly larger percentage of lipid tissue (cross-sectional: 23.3 ± 12.7 vs. 15.7 ± 11.9%; P = 0.033; volumetric: 22.8 ± 10.4 vs. 16.3 ± 7.0%; P = 0.008) and a significantly smaller percentage of fibrous tissue compared with that after BMS implantation (cross-sectional: 73.6 ± 11.6 vs. 82.0 ± 11.2%; P = 0.011, volumetric: 73.8 ± 9.5 vs. 80.5 ± 6.7%; P = 0.004).

CONCLUSION

This IB-IVUS study indicates that larger amounts of lipid tissue are present in neointima of SES when compared with BMS, suggesting that neoatherosclerosis may in part be responsible for ISR after SES implantation.

Comparison of long-term clinical and 1-year angiographic outcomes after primary stenting (-12 hours) and late reperfusion (12 hours-) using sirolimus-eluting stents for ST-segment elevated myocardial infarctions: a propensity score matching analysis

OBJECTIVE

We compared the long-term clinical and 1-year angiographic outcomes in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who presented between 12 to 48 hours after symptom onset and underwent emergent procedures (late reperfusion) using sirolimus-eluting stents (SES; Cypher Bx Velocity) with those of primary stenting patients who presented within 12 hours.

METHODS

The study design was a retrospective, nonrandomized single-center study in which the investigations were conducted in October 2012 following the enrollment of consecutive STEMI patients treated with late reperfusion (n=75) and primary stenting using SES (n=386) between September 2004 and May 2007. The incidence of the primary end points (cardiac death, nonfatal recurrent MI and definite stent thrombosis) after late reperfusion (6.7%; mean follow-up, 2,176±742 days) was not significantly different from that observed after primary stenting (8.5%; 2,237±722 days) (p=0.59). The incidence of the secondary end point (binary in-stent restenosis: % diameter stenosis greater than 50% on secondary angiography at approximately one year) after late reperfusion (11.1%, n=54) was not statistically different from that observed after primary stenting (8.0%, n=276) (p=0.45). Using a propensity score matching analysis, the incidences of the primary (6.7%, n=75) and secondary (11.3%, n=53) end points after late reperfusion were not found to be significantly different from those observed after primary stenting (8.0% and 9.4%) (p=0.75 and 0.75, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The present small study showed the long-term clinical and 1-year angiographic outcomes after late reperfusion using SES for STEMI patients in emergent procedures in daily practice to be statistically equivalent to those observed after primary stenting using SES for STEMI patients.

Percutaneous coronary intervention with bare metal stent vs. drug-eluting stent in hemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent (DES) is widely performed in patients with coronary artery disease, but the high restenosis rate remains a major clinical problem after implantation of DES in patients on hemodialysis (HD). Until now, there are limited reports regarding the long-term clinical outcome after implantation of DES in this patient population.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We compared bare metal stent (BMS) and DES for long-term clinical outcomes, such as target lesion revascularization (TLR), in HD patients undergoing PCI. BMS and DES were implanted in 204 and 301 patients, respectively. Baseline and lesion characteristics were comparable between the 2 groups. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, event rates of major adverse cardiac events for 6 years were significantly lower in the DES group than in the BMS group (42.5% vs. 58.0%, P=0.036). Although there were no significant differences in TLR rates between patients treated with DES and those with BMS at 1 year after PCI (17.8% vs. 21.3%, P=0.32), patients treated with DES had significantly lower rates of TLR compared with those treated with BMS beyond the 1-year follow-up after PCI (16.4% vs. 30.9%, P=0.019).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients on HD, implantation of DES might be more effective for preventing TLR in the medium to long follow-up period than BMS, although restenosis after PCI with DES is common in the short term.

Sirolimus-eluting stents reduce long-term mortality compared with bare metal stents in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) have demonstrated more favorable outcomes compared with bare metal stents (BMS) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) within medium term follow up in randomized controlled trials (RCT). However, long-term outcomes remain unknown.

METHODS

We conducted a meta-analysis of RCT comparing SES with BMS in STEMI patients at long-term follow up, defined as 2 years or more after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The clinical end points of our interest were death, recurrent myocardial infarction (MI), definite stent thrombosis (ST), and target lesion revascularization (TLR). We calculated the pooled estimate based on a fixed-effects model using Peto odds ratio (OR) for rare events. If heterogeneity was observed across an individual RCT, an analysis based on a random-effects model was performed.

RESULTS

Four RCT were included in this study, involving 1304 patients (656 patients randomized to SES and 648 patients to BMS). Up to 4 years, SES showed a significant reduction in not only TLR (OR: 0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31 to 0.62, p<0.001) but also mortality (OR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.39 to 1.00, p=0.049) compared with BMS. In contrast, the proportions of recurrent MI (OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.52 to 1.28, p=0.378) and definite ST (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.56 to 2.27, p=0.740) were comparable between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In this meta-analysis of long-term RCT, primary PCI for STEMI patients with SES was associated with a decrease in mortality as well as TLR without an increase in recurrent MI or definite ST compared with BMS.

Sirolimus- vs. paclitaxel-eluting stent to coronary intervention in dialysis patients

BACKGROUND

Patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) are at high risk for restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) even if treated with a sirolimus-eluting stent (SES). The aim of this study was to compare the effects of SES and paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) in preventing restenosis in HD patients with coronary artery disease.

METHODS

A total of 100 consecutive patients on HD who underwent PCI were enrolled into the study. They were randomly assigned to receive either SES or PES. We compared follow-up angiographic outcomes between the SES and PES groups at 8-month follow-up.

RESULTS

The angiographical restenosis rate, defined as % diameter stenosis>50% at 8-month follow-up, was 19.7% in the SES group and 20.0% in the PES group (p=0.97). Late loss was also similar between the two groups (0.49±0.70 mm vs. 0.48±0.91 mm, P=0.94). There were no significant differences in the rates of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or TLR due to stent restenosis-induced ischemia between the two groups (2.0% vs. 4.0%, p=0.56, 2.0% vs. 4.0%, p=0.56, and 16.0% vs. 12.0%, p=0.57, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

There was no significant difference in angiographical outcome at 8-month follow-up between HD patients treated with SES and PES. Even if treated with DES including SES and PES, patients on HD are at high risk of restenosis after PCI.

Impact of the low- to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio on composition of angiographically ambiguous left main coronary artery plaque

BACKGROUND

A high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to a high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio is associated with cardiac events, while the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is considered to be an important target of atherosclerotic plaque accumulation. This aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between a LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and the characteristics of tissue components of LMCA plaque.

METHODS AND RESULTS

One-hundred-twenty consecutive patients with stable angina pectoris who received chronic statin treatment underwent percutaneous coronary intervention for the left coronary artery. We prospectively performed integrated backscatter (IB) intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to their LMCAs and evaluated the tissue characteristics. According to the median value of their LDL-C/HDL-C ratios (2.4), they were divided into 2 groups [high LDL-C/HDL-C ratio (>2.4) (n=60) or low LDL-C/HDL-C ratio (≤ 2.4) (n=60)]. There was no significant difference in the data analyzed using conventional IVUS between the 2 groups. In the IB-IVUS analysis, patients with a high LDL-C/HDL-C ratio had a larger lipid volume and a smaller fibrous volume compared to patients with a low LDL-C/HDL-C ratio (52 ± 10% vs. 48 ± 10%, P=0.014 and 45 ± 9% vs. 50 ± 10%, P=0.010).

CONCLUSIONS

A high LDL-C/HDL-C ratio was associated with a high percentage of lipid volume and a low percentage of fibrous volume in LMCA lesions. Our findings might well suggest the increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients with a high LDL-C/HDL-C ratio.