Impact of Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease on Long Term Prognosis in Patients with ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Percutaneous coronary intervention versus coronary artery by-pass grafting in premature coronary artery disease: What is the evidence? -A narrative review

Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains one of the leading causes of death globally. In the United States of America, in 2016, 19% of all patients under the age of 65 died of cardiovascular disease despite improvements in primary prevention. The premature clinical onset of symptoms in the young population (<60 years) is much more aggressive than in the older population, and the overall long-term prognosis is poor. CAD appears to have a rapidly progressive form in those under the age of 60 due to genetic predisposition, smoking, and substance abuse, however, the ideal management strategy is still yet to be established. The two primary methods of establishing coronary revascularization are percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Despite the increasing prevalence of CAD in the young population, they are consistently underrepresented in major randomized clinical trials of each revascularization strategy. Both CABG and PCI are known to have similar survival rates, but PCI is associated with higher repeat revascularization rate. Many argue this may be due to the progressive nature of CAD combined with the vessel patency time required in a patient under 60 with potentially another 20-30 years of life. There is little in literature regarding the outcomes of these various revascularization strategies in populations under 60 years with CAD. This review summarises the current evidence for each revascularisation strategy in patients under the age of 60 and suggests future avenues of research for this unique age group.

Clinical Characteristics and Short-Term Outcomes of Patients Presenting with Acute Myocardial Infarction having Multi-vessel disease - A Single Middle- eastern Tertiary-Care Center Experience

Objective

Patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease (MVD) compared to single-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) have more comorbidities and poor in-hospital outcomes. We aim to analyze MVD-AMI patients regarding clinical data and short-term outcomes.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of the prospectively collected data registry, a single-center study reviewing the clinical details and hospital outcome measures of AMI patients referred to our center for early revascularization from 2016 to 2019.

Result

Out of 3041 patients presented with AMI, 491 (16%) had MVD on coronary angiogram. MVD-AMI patients were older, had a higher prevalence of DM, HTN, and prior history of ischemic heart disease compared to the non- MVD -AMI group (p < 0.001 for all). However, they presented more with non-anterior myocardial infarction, showed higher rates of post-myocardial infarction LV dysfunction, and mortality (p < 0.001). Older MVD-AMI patients showed higher rates of in-hospital morbidities and mortality compared to younger ones (p < 0.001). MVD- AMI women and Middle Eastern patients were older and showed a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors compared to MVD-AMI men and South Asian patient population respectively. There were no significant differences recorded among the different subgroups of MVD-AMI patients regarding the hospital outcome measures.

Conclusion

Our study highlighted the clinical characters and poor outcomes of a high-risk group of MVD-AMI with different demographic backgrounds. Although age was a strong predictor for in-hospital poor outcomes, neither gender nor ethnicity affected the outcomes in them.

Assessment of lesion-associated myocardial ischemia based on fusion coronary CT imaging - the FUSE-HEART study: A protocol for non-randomized clinical trial

INTRODUCTION

Multimodality assessment of coronary artery lesions has demonstrated superior effectiveness compared to the conventional approach, for assessing both anatomical and functional significance of a coronary stenosis. Multiple imaging modalities can be integrated into a fusion imaging tool to better assess myocardial ischemia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The FUSE-HEART trial is a single center, prospective, cohort study that will assess the impact of a coronary artery stenosis on myocardial function and viability, based on advanced fusion imaging technics derived from Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA). Moreover, the study will investigate the correlation between morphology and composition of the coronary plaques and myocardial ischemia in the territory irrigated by the same coronary artery. At the same time, imaging parameters will be correlated with inflammatory status of the subjects. The trial will include 100 subjects with coronary lesions found on CCTA examination. The study population will be divided into 2 groups: first group will consist of subjects with anatomically significant coronary lesions on native coronary arteries and the second one will include subjects surviving an acute myocardial infarction. The vulnerability score of the subjects will be calculated based on presence of CCTA vulnerability markers of the coronary plaques: napkin ring sign, positive remodeling, spotty calcifications, necrotic core, and low-density plaques. 3D fusion images of the coronary tree will be generated, integrating the images reflecting wall motion with the ones of coronary circulation. The fusion models will establish the correspondence between plaque composition and wall motion in the subtended myocardium of the coronary artery. The study primary outcome will be represented by the rate of major adverse cardiac events related to myocardial ischemia at 1-year post assessment, in correlation with the degree of coronary artery stenosis and myocardial ischemia or viability.The secondary outcomes are represented by the rate of re-hospitalization, rate of survival and rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (including cardiovascular death or stroke), in correlation with the morphology and composition of atheromatous plaques located in a coronary artery, and myocardial ischemia in the territory irrigated by the same coronary artery.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, FUSE-HEART will be a study based on modern imaging tools that will investigate the impact of a coronary artery stenosis on myocardial function and viability, using advanced fusion imaging technics derived from CCTA, sighting to validate plaque composition and morphology, together with inflammatory biomarkers, as predictors to myocardial viability.