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INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The management of elderly patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) is challenging. We explored the prognostic value and usefulness for decision-making of ischemic burden determined by vasodilator stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in elderly patients with known or suspected CCS. METHODS: The study group comprised 2496 patients older than 70 years who underwent vasodilator stress CMR for known or suspected CCS. The ischemic burden (number of segments with stress-induced perfusion deficit) was calculated following the 17-segment model. Subsequently, we retrospectively analyzed its association with all-cause mortality and the effect of CMR-guided revascularization. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 4.58 years, there were 430 deaths (17.2%). A higher ischemic burden was an independent predictor of mortality (HR, 1.04; 95%CI, 1.01-1.07 for each additional ischemic segment; P=.006). This association was also found in patients older than 80 years and in women (P

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Microvascular obstruction (MVO) is negatively associated with cardiac structure and worse prognosis after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), involved in epithelium adhesion, is an understudied area in the MVO setting. We aimed to determine whether EpCAM is associated with the appearance of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-derived MVO and long-term systolic function in reperfused STEMI. METHODS: We prospectively included 106 patients with a first STEMI treated with percutaneous coronary intervention, quantifying serum levels of EpCAM 24hours postreperfusion. All patients underwent CMR imaging 1 week and 6 months post-STEMI. The independent correlation of EpCAM with MVO, systolic volume indices, and left ventricular ejection fraction was evaluated. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 59±13 years and 76% were male. Patients were dichotomized according to median EpCAM (4.48 pg/mL). At 1-week CMR, lower EpCAM was related to extensive MVO (P=.021) and larger infarct size (P=.019). At presentation, EpCAM values were significantly associated with the presence of MVO in univariate (OR, 0.58; 95%CI, 0.38-0.88; P=.011) and multivariate logistic regression models (OR, 0.55; 95%CI, 0.35-0.87; P=.010). Although MVO tends to resolve at chronic phases, decreased EpCAM was associated with worse systolic function: reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (P=.009) and higher left ventricular end-systolic volume (P=.043). CONCLUSIONS: EpCAM is associated with the occurrence of CMR-derived MVO at acute phases and long-term adverse ventricular remodeling post-STEMI.