Socioeconomic Factors and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography: A Multicentre Study of Arabian Gulf States

The Frequency of the Minor Polymorphisms in the CYP2C19, VEGFR-2 Genes, and Clinical Outcomes in Russian and Buryat Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Aim: To determine the differences in the frequencies of polymorphic variants at the rs4244285(*2), rs4986893 (*3), rs12248560 (*17), loci of the CYP2C19 gene, and the rs2305948 locus of the VEGFR-2 gene in patients receiving clopidogrel treatment as part of a 30-day clinical outcome trial in the Russian and Buryat regions of East Siberia. Methods: The study included 118 Russian (from Irkutsk) and 109 Buryat (from Ulan-Ude) patients with emergency admission for percutaneous coronary interventional treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The patients were stratified by the presence of the CYP2C19*2, CYP2C19*3, CYP2C19*17 alleles, and the VEGFR-2 rs2305948 allele. Safety and efficacy endpoints were analyzed 30 days following coronary stenting (CS). Results: There was no significant difference found in the Russian and Buryat patients in terms of the frequency of the CYP2C19*2 minor allele (10.2% in the Russian against 12.8% in the Buryat patients, odds ratio [OR] = 1.167, confidence interval [CI] 0.729-2.323). However, the frequency of the CYP2C19*3 allele was significantly higher in the Buryat patients than in the Russian patients (12.8% vs. 2.1%), OR = 5.600, CI 2.579-17.974; while in the Russian patients the frequency of the CYP2C19*17 allele was higher than the Buryat patients (23.3% in Russian patients vs. 10.1% in Buryat, OR = 2.500, CI 1.587-4.618). No significant differences were found in the prevalence of the VEGFR-2 rs2305948 alleles between the two groups of patient populations (12.5 in Buryat patients vs. 11.5% in Russian, OR = 1.040, CI 0.614-1.980). The Buryat patients were highly significantly more likely to experience adverse effects associated with the inefficacy of clopidogrel treatment, that is, early recurrent ischemic pains after CS, than the Russian patients (χ² = 11.325, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The Buryat patients receiving clopidogrel treatment after CS have a reduced risk of small or large hemorrhages, and an increased risk of thrombotic complications compared with Caucasians. These results suggest that other antiplatelet drugs should be used for treating the Buryat patients with ACS.

Association between education and major adverse cardiac events among patients with acute coronary syndrome in the Arabian Gulf

Introduction

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between education and major adverse cardiac events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the Arabian Gulf.

Methods

Data were analysed from 3874 consecutive patients diagnosed with ACS admitted to 29 hospitals in four Arabian Gulf countries from January 2012 to January 2013. Education was defined as any type of formal training from primary school and above. MACE included stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA), myocardial infarction (MI), all-cause mortality and readmissions for cardiac reasons.

Results

The overall mean age was 60±13 years and 67% (n=2579) were men. A total of 53% (n=2039) of the patients had some form of school education. Adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics as well as socioeconomic measures (insurance type and employment), at 12-month follow-up, educated patients were significantly less likely to have had MACE (adjusted OR (aOR): 0.55; 95% CI 0.44 to 0.68; p<0.001) than those with no formal education. The lower rate of events was also consistent across all MACE components: stroke/TIA (aOR: 0.56; 95% CI 0.33 to 0.94; p=0.030), MI (aOR: 0.58; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.86; p=0.008), all-cause mortality (aOR: 0.58; 95% CI 0.39 to 0.87; p=0.009) and readmissions for cardiac reasons (aOR: 0.61; 95% CI 0.48 to 0.77; p<0.001). MACE outcomes were consistent across men and women and across countries.

Conclusions

Education was associated with lower MACE events in patients with ACS in the Arabian Gulf. Interventions promoting healthy lifestyles and management of clinical risk factors for patients with low health literacy are urgently required.

Divorce and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease: A Multicenter Study

The association between marital status and coronary artery disease (CAD) is supported by numerous epidemiological studies. While divorce may have an adverse effect on cardiac outcomes, the relationship between divorce and severe CAD is unclear. We conducted a multicenter, observational study of consecutive patients undergoing coronary angiography during the period between April 1, 2013, and March 30, 2014. Of 1,068 patients, 124 (12%) were divorced. Divorce was more frequent among women (27%) compared to men (6%). Most divorced patients had been divorced only once (49%), but a subset had been divorced 2 (38%) or ≥3 (12%) times. After adjusting for baseline differences, there was no significant association between divorce and severe CAD in men. In women, there was a significant adjusted association between divorce and severe MVD (OR 2.31 [1.16, 4.59]) or LMD (OR 5.91 [2.19, 15.99]). The modification of the association between divorce and severe CAD by gender was statistically significant for severe LMD (Pinteraction 0.0008) and marginally significant for CAD (Pinteraction 0.05). Among women, there was a significant adjusted association between number of divorces and severe CAD (OR 2.4 [95% CI 1.2, 4.5]), MVD (OR 2.0 [95% CI 1.4, 3.0]), and LMD (OR 3.4 [95% CI 1.9, 5.9]). In conclusion, divorce, particularly multiple divorces, is associated with severe CAD, MVD, and LMD in women but not in men.