Objectives
To assess the long‐term safety and efficacy of the Resolute zotarolimus‐eluting stent (R‐ZES).
Background
The R‐ZES has been associated with low rates of adverse events over ...short‐intermediate term follow‐up. However, reliable assessment of the safety and efficacy of any implanted device requires long‐term evaluation.
Methods
The RESOLUTE US trial was a prospective, observational study conducted at 116 U.S. sites and enrolled patients with de novo coronary lesions. Patients were followed clinically for 5 years with independent event adjudication and data monitoring.
Results
A total of 1,402 patients (1,573 lesions) were enrolled; 34% had diabetes mellitus and 75% had ACC type B2/C lesions. The 5‐year rate of target lesion failure (TLF) was 12.3%, target lesion revascularization was 6.5%, target vessel myocardial infarction was 3.2%, and cardiac death was 4.1%. Dual antiplatelet therapy usage was 94% at 1 year and 47% at 5 years, with a 0.1% and 0.5% respective incidence of definite or probable stent thrombosis. The 5‐year rate of TLF was 16.9% among patients with diabetes mellitus and 14.7% in patients with at least one small (≤2.5 mm) vessel treated. Covariates independently associated with 5‐year TLF in multivariable analysis included diabetes mellitus (odds ratio OR 1.89, p < .001), prior coronary artery bypass grafting (OR 2.28, p < .001), prior myocardial infarction (OR 1.85, p = .002), and smaller reference vessel diameter (OR 1.75, p = .004).
Conclusions
Results from the fully adjudicated and monitored RESOLUTE US trial demonstrate long‐term 5‐year safety and efficacy of the R‐ZES stent among a relatively low‐risk population of patients, including a 0.5% rate of stent thrombosis at 5 years.
Studies have established the importance of physical activity and fitness, yet limited data exist on the associations between objective, real-world physical activity patterns, fitness, sleep, and ...cardiovascular health.
To assess the feasibility of obtaining measures of physical activity, fitness, and sleep from smartphones and to gain insights into activity patterns associated with life satisfaction and self-reported disease.
The MyHeart Counts smartphone app was made available in March 2015, and prospective participants downloaded the free app between March and October 2015. In this smartphone-based study of cardiovascular health, participants recorded physical activity, filled out health questionnaires, and completed a 6-minute walk test. The app was available to download within the United States.
The feasibility of consent and data collection entirely on a smartphone, the use of machine learning to cluster participants, and the associations between activity patterns, life satisfaction, and self-reported disease.
From the launch to the time of the data freeze for this study (March to October 2015), the number of individuals (self-selected) who consented to participate was 48 968, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their median age was 36 years (interquartile range, 27-50 years), and 82.2% (30 338 male, 6556 female, 10 other, and 3115 unknown) were male. In total, 40 017 (81.7% of those who consented) uploaded data. Among those who consented, 20 345 individuals (41.5%) completed 4 of the 7 days of motion data collection, and 4552 individuals (9.3%) completed all 7 days. Among those who consented, 40 017 (81.7%) filled out some portion of the questionnaires, and 4990 (10.2%) completed the 6-minute walk test, made available only at the end of 7 days. The Heart Age Questionnaire, also available after 7 days, required entering lipid values and age 40 to 79 years (among 17 245 individuals, 43.1% of participants). Consequently, 1334 (2.7%) of those who consented completed all fields needed to compute heart age and a 10-year risk score. Physical activity was detected for a mean (SD) of 14.5% (8.0%) of individuals' total recorded time. Physical activity patterns were identified by cluster analysis. A pattern of lower overall activity but more frequent transitions between active and inactive states was associated with equivalent self-reported cardiovascular disease as a pattern of higher overall activity with fewer transitions. Individuals' perception of their activity and risk bore little relation to sensor-estimated activity or calculated cardiovascular risk.
A smartphone-based study of cardiovascular health is feasible, and improvements in participant diversity and engagement will maximize yield from consented participants. Large-scale, real-world assessment of physical activity, fitness, and sleep using mobile devices may be a useful addition to future population health studies.
Previous studies have shown that quality of life improves after coronary revascularization more so after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) than after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). ...This study aimed to evaluate the effect of fractional flow reserve guidance and current generation, zotarolimus drug-eluting stents on quality of life after PCI compared with CABG.
The FAME 3 trial (Fractional Flow Reserve Versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation) is a multicenter, international trial including 1500 patients with 3-vessel coronary artery disease who were randomly assigned to either CABG or fractional flow reserve-guided PCI. Quality of life was measured using the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaire at baseline and 1 and 12 months. The Canadian Cardiovascular Class angina grade and working status were assessed at the same time points and at 6 months. The primary objective was to compare EQ-5D summary index at 12 months. Secondary end points included angina grade and work status.
The EQ-5D summary index at 12 months did not differ between the PCI and CABG groups (difference, 0.001 95% CI, -0.016 to 0.017;
=0.946). The trajectory of EQ-5D during the 12 months differed (
<0.001) between PCI and CABG: at 1 month, EQ-5D was 0.063 (95% CI, 0.047 to 0.079) higher in the PCI group. A similar trajectory was found for the EQ (EuroQol) visual analogue scale. The proportion of patients with Canadian Cardiovascular Class 2 or greater angina at 12 months was 6.2% versus 3.1% (odds ratio, 2.5 95% CI, 0.96-6.8), respectively, in the PCI group compared with the CABG group. A greater percentage of younger patients (<65 years old) were working at 12 months in the PCI group compared with the CABG group (68% versus 57%; odds ratio, 3.9 95% CI, 1.7-8.8).
In the FAME 3 trial, quality of life after fractional flow reserve-guided PCI with current generation drug-eluting stents compared with CABG was similar at 1 year. The rate of significant angina was low in both groups and not significantly different. The trajectory of improvement in quality of life was significantly better after PCI, as was working status in those <65 years old.
URL: https://www.
gov; Unique identifier: NCT02100722.
This study aimed to explore the impact of myocardial bridging (MB) on early development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy and long-term graft survival after heart transplantation.
MB has been ...reported to be associated with acceleration of proximal plaque development and endothelial dysfunction in native coronary atherosclerosis. However, its clinical significance in heart transplantation remains unclear.
In 103 heart-transplant recipients, serial (baseline and 1-year post-transplant) volumetric intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) analyses were performed in the first 50 mm of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery. Standard IVUS indices were evaluated in 3 equally divided LAD segments (proximal, middle, and distal segments). MB was defined by IVUS as an echolucent muscular band lying on top of the artery. The primary endpoint was death or re-transplantation, assessed for up to 12.2 years (median follow-up: 4.7 years).
IVUS identified MB in 62% of the study population. At baseline, MB patients had smaller intimal volume in the distal LAD than non-MB patients (p = 0.002). During the first year, vessel volume decreased diffusely irrespective of the presence of MB. Intimal growth diffusely distributed in non-MB patients, whereas MB patients demonstrated significantly augmented intimal formation in the proximal LAD. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed significantly lower event-free survival in patients with versus without MB (log-rank p = 0.02). In multivariate analysis, the presence of MB was independently associated with late adverse events hazard ratio 5.1 (1.6–22.2).
MB appears to relate to accelerated proximal intimal growth and reduced long-term survival in heart-transplant recipients.
•Myocardial bridging in patients after heart transplantation.•might have higher prevalence than considered.•appeared to be associated with accelerated proximal plaque proliferation.•and reduced long-term survival.
The RESOLUTE US (R-US) trial is a prospective, observational study designed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the Resolute zotarolimus-eluting stent (R-ZES) in a U.S. population.
The R-ZES ...releases zotarolimus over a 6-month period in order to achieve optimal clinical effectiveness and safety.
The R-US trial recruited patients with de novo native coronary lesions suitable for 1- or 2-vessel treatment with stents from 2.25 to 4.0 mm in diameter. In the main analysis cohort (2.5- to 3.5-mm stents and single-lesion treatment), the primary endpoint was 12-month target lesion failure (TLF) defined as the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and clinically-driven target lesion revascularization (TLR), compared with data from Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting stent (E-ZES) trials, adjusting for baseline covariates through propensity scores.
Overall, 1,402 patients were enrolled with a mean reference vessel diameter of 2.59 ± 0.47 mm and diabetes prevalence of 34.4%. In the main analysis cohort, TLF was 3.7% at 12 months compared with historical E-ZES results (TLF = 6.5%). The R-ZES met the 3.3% margin of noninferiority (rate difference = -2.8%, upper 1-sided 95% confidence interval: -1.3%, p < 0.001). The overall TLF rate was 4.7%, and rates of cardiac death, MI, and TLR were 0.7%, 1.4%, and 2.8%, respectively. The 12-month rate of stent thrombosis was 0.1%.
The R-ZES achieved a very low rate of clinical restenosis while maintaining low rates of important clinical safety events such as death, MI, and stent thrombosis at 1-year follow-up. (The Medtronic RESOLUTE US Clinical Trial R-US; NCT00726453).
Background: Although peri-strut low-intensity area (PLIA) is frequently observed on post-stenting optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, the histology associated with PLIA is undocumented. ...Methods and Results: The 36 porcine coronary lesions treated with bare-metal (BMS: n=16) or drug-eluting (DES: n=20) stents were assessed by OCT and histology at 28 days. DES showed a significantly higher incidence of PLIA than BMS. Also, +PLIA stents had greater neointima than PLIA stents. Histological analysis revealed the existence of fibrinoid and proteoglycans at the site of PLIA. Conclusions: PLIA might be represented by the presence of fibrinoid and proteoglycans, and associated with neointimal proliferation after stenting. (Circ J 2010; 74: 1257 - 1259)
BACKGROUNDThe functional SYNTAX score (FSS), which incorporates functional information as assessed by fractional flow reserve (FFR), is a better predictor of outcome after percutaneous coronary ...intervention (PCI) in patients with less complex coronary artery disease (CAD). OBJECTIVESThis study sought to test the prognostic value of the FSS in patients with complex CAD eligible for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODSThe FAME 3 (Fractional Flow Reserve Versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation 3) trial compared FFR-guided PCI with CABG in patients with angiographic 3-vessel CAD. In this prespecified substudy, the angiographic core laboratory calculated the SYNTAX score (SS) and then the FSS by eliminating lesions that were not significant based on FFR. Outcomes in the PCI patients based on the FSS and the SS were compared to each other and to the patients treated with CABG. RESULTSThe FSS reclassified more than one-quarter of patients from an SS >22 to an FSS ≤22. In the 50% of PCI patients who had an FSS ≤22, the primary endpoint occurred at a similar rate to patients treated with CABG (P = 0.77). The primary endpoint in patients without functionally significant 3-vessel CAD was similar to the CABG group (P = 0.97). The rate of myocardial infarction and revascularization among all deferred lesions was 0.5% and 3.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONSBy measuring the FSS, one can identify 50% of patients who have a similar outcome at 1 year with PCI compared with CABG. Lesions deferred from PCI based on FFR have a low event rate.
We evaluate the prognostic value of measuring fractional flow reserve (FFR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (post-PCI FFR) and intravascular imaging in patients undergoing PCI for 3-vessel ...coronary artery disease in the FAME 3 trial (Fractional Flow Reserve versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation).
The FAME 3 trial is a multicenter, international, randomized study comparing FFR-guided PCI with coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease. PCI was not noninferior with respect to the primary end point of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or repeat revascularization at 1 year. Post-PCI FFR data were acquired on a patient and vessel-related basis. Intravascular imaging guidance was tracked. The primary end point is a comparison of target vessel failure (TVF) defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization at 1 year based on post-PCI FFR values. Cox regression with robust SEs was used for analysis.
Of the 757 patients randomized to PCI, 461 (61%) had post-PCI FFR measurement and 11.1% had intravascular imaging performed. The median post-PCI FFR was 0.89 IQR' 0.85-0.94. On a vessel-level, post-PCI FFR was found to be a significant predictor of TVF univariately (hazard ratio=0.67 95% CI' 0.48-0.93 for 0.1 unit increase,
=0.0165). On a patient-level, the single lowest post-PCI FFR value was also found to be a significant predictor of TVF univariately (hazard ratio=0.65 95% CI' 0.48-0.89 for 0.1 unit increase,
=0.0074). Post-PCI FFR was an independent predictor of TVF in multivariable analysis adjusted for key clinical parameters. Outcomes were similar between patients who had intravascular imaging guidance and those who did not.
Post-PCI FFR measurement was a significant predictor of TVF on a vessel and patient level and an independent predictor of outcomes in a population with complex 3-vessel coronary artery disease eligible for coronary artery bypass grafting. The limited use of intravascular imaging did not affect outcomes.
URL: https://www.
gov; Unique identifier: NCT02100722.
The safety and efficacy of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition (ACEI) after heart transplantation (HT) is unknown. This study examined long-term clinical outcomes after ACEI in HT recipients.
...The ACEI after HT study was a prospective, randomized trial that tested the efficacy of ACEI with ramipril after HT. In this study, long-term clinical outcomes were assessed in 91 patients randomized to either ramipril or placebo (median, 5.8 years). The primary endpoint was a composite of death, retransplantation, hospitalization for rejection or heart failure, and coronary revascularization.
The primary endpoint occurred in 10 of 45 patients (22.2%) in the ramipril group and in 14 of 46 patients (30.4%) in the placebo group (Hazard ratio (HR), 0.68; 95% CI, 0.29-1.51; P = .34). When the analysis was restricted to comparing patients who remained on a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor beyond 1 year with those who did not, there was a trend to improved outcomes (HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.22-1.28, P = .16). There was no significant difference in creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and potassium at 3 years after randomization. The cumulative incidence of the primary endpoint was significantly higher in patients in whom the index of microcirculatory resistance increased from baseline to 1 year compared with those in whom it did not (39.1 vs 17.4%, HR: 3.36; 95% CI, 1.07-12.7; P = .037).
The use of ramipril after HT safely lowers blood pressure and is associated with favorable long-term clinical outcomes.
Clinical Trial Registration—URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01078363.