Introduction:
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with left internal mammary artery (LIMA) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PCI) with drug eluting stent (DES) implantation are both effective to treat ischemic heart disease. In the current study we evaluated the long term results of the two methods in patients (pts) with isolated proximal left anterior descending artery lesion (pLAD), suffering from chronic stable angina (CSA).
Methods:
We included 280 pts, 170 with DES implantation and 110 with LIMA grafting. Primary end points were the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as: Death, myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularization (TVR). Secondary end-points included the length of hospitalization, in-hospital complications and the recurrence of chest pain. Pts were followed-up clinically.
Results:
Mean follow-up period was two years (midrange, one to three years). MACE was 5.29% in the DES group and 2.72% in the surgical group (p=0.37). TVR was 3.52% after PCI and 0% after CABG (p=0.08). The event-free survival curve was similar between the two groups (Figure
). More in-hospital complications were observed in the surgical group compared with the PCI group (16.36% vs. 1.17%, respectively, p=0.01). Recurrent angina was 4.11% in the DES group and 6.36% in CABG group (p = 0.41).
Conclusions
: In the current study the two procedures had similar long-term results, even though the surgical approach was associated with increased in-hospital complications and longer hospitalization. Therefore, both revascularization modalities can be used to treat pLAD lesions in pts with CSA.
Response to ‘Re: Long-term Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial Analyzing the Role of Systematic Pre-operative Coronary Angiography before Elective Carotid Endarterectomy in Patients with Asymptomatic Coronary Artery Disease’
