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Aim: To evaluate sex difference in culprit plaque features at optical coherence tomography (OCT) and major adverse cardiovascular events at follow-up. Patients and methods: We analyse data from the OCT-FORMIDABLE (OCT-Features Of moRphology, coMposItion anD instABility of culprit and pLaquE in acute coronary syndrome [ACS] patients) registry. A total of 285 patients (20%, 58 females) were included. Results: Females with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction showed a longer ruptured area of the plaque (8.6 ± 7.6 vs 4.6 ± 5.4; p = 0.003) and a major necrotic core macrophage infiltration (43 vs 17%; p = 0.017). Females with non-ST segment elevation-ACS had less lipidic plaques (62 vs 80%; p = 0.04). No between-group sex differences in major adverse cardiovascular events emerged at follow-up (5 vs 9%; p = 0.88 in ST segment elevation myocardial infarction group and 19 vs 15%; p = 0.6 in non-ST segment elevation-ACS group). At multivariate analysis, female sex was not a major risk of plaque rupture (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.59, CI: 0.44-5.67; p = 0.48). Conclusion: Female sex seems to have no significant impact. ClincalTrial. gov registration number: NCT02486861. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Chronic pre-treatment with statins may reduce mortality and morbidity in patients experiencing acute coronary syndromes (ACS), but mechanisms accounting for these findings are not completely understood. Methods and results The optical coherence tomography (OCT)-Formidable registry retrospectively enrolled 285 consecutive patients with ACS undergoing OCT in 9 European centres. Mean age was 60.4 ° 12.8 years, 148 (51.9%) patients had hyperlipemia, 45 (15.8%) diabetes mellitus and 142 (49.8%) presented with ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). Patients were stratified according to statin prescription: 150 (52.6%) were on chronic pretreatment with statins before ACS and were more likely to present with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) at admission (111, 74%) rather than STEMI, while the opposite was observed for patients not on statins. The primary end-point of ruptured plaque at OCT occurred significantly less frequently in the patients on chronic pre-treatment with statins [odds ratio (OR) 0.375, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.185-0.759, P = 0.006]. The secondary end-point of thin-cap fibro-atheroma (TCFA) at any site was significantly less frequent in the statin group (OR 0.423, 95%CI 0.213-0.840, P = 0.014). No differences were observed for the secondary endpoint of not-ruptured TCFA as the culprit lesion. Pre-specified sensitivity analysis was conducted according to the pattern of ACS: the reported differences were confirmed for NSTE-ACS patients, with a trend towards less plaque rupture and a significant reduction of TCFA at any site with statins, but not for STEMI. Conclusions Chronic pre-treatment with statins is associated with a reduced prevalence of ruptured plaques in patients presenting with ACS, particularly in those with NSTE-ACS. Statins bear hence the potential to reduce morbidity during the acute phase of ACS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In the setting of the Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), differences in response to prasugrel and ticagrelor between East Asian and European patients have not been investigated yet. Methods This is a sub-analysis of the “BleeMACS registry”. Patients admitted for ACS and underwent PCI from between 2012 and 2014 were stratified first according to their provenance, Europe vs. East Asia (China and Japan), and then by country. The adjusted rate of 1-year serious bleeding -safety end-point- and 1-year death/re-infarction -effectiveness endpoint- of the new P2Y12r inhibitors were compared. Results Data of 10004 patients in Europe and 2332 patients in East Asia were collected. At baseline prior stroke (6% vs 9%, p < 0.001, respectively) and type of ACS (59% vs 71% STEMI, 11% vs 21% Unstable Angina) were significantly different among the groups. At 1 year follow-up no difference in bleeding (3% vs 3%, p = 0.84) was found, while the between group incidence of death/re-infarction was significantly higher in the European centers (9% vs 5%, p < 0.001). At the multivariate analysis, ticagrelor decreases the risk of MACE (Europe: HR 0.5, CI 0.3–0.9; East Asia: HR 0.5, CI 0.2–0.9), despite of a higher risk of bleeding in Caucasians (HR 1.7, CI 1.1–2.6). Prasugrel reduces death/re-infarction (HR 0.4, CI 0.2–0.6), without increasing bleeding (HR 0.9, CI 0.5–1.3). Conclusions In the setting of the ACS, the new anti-platelets drugs appear to be safe and efficacious at mid-term follow-up independently from the geographic area. Prasugrel seems to have the best risk–benefit, while ticagrelor appears safer in East Asians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The prevalence of plaque rupture at the culprit lesion identified by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in different clinical subset of patients undergoing coronary angiography and its clinical predictors remain to be defined. Methods All studies including patients with OCT evaluation of the culprit coronary plaque were included. The prevalence of culprit plaque rupture (CPR) and thin-cap fibro-atheroma (TCFA) were the primary endpoints. The factors associated with these findings were studied in a subset of patients with different clinical presentations [ST-elevation myocardial (STEMI) vs. nonST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) vs. unstable angina (UA) vs. stable angina pectoris (SAP)]. Results One hundred and fifty citations were initially appraised at the abstract level and 23 full-text studies were assessed. The mean prevalence of CPR and TCFA was 48.1% (40.5-55.8) and 48.7% (37.4-60.1), respectively. The prevalence of CPR and TCFA were higher in STEMI (70.4 and 76.6%) than in NSTEMI (55.6 and 56.3%) and UA (39.1 and 52.9%) or SAP (6.2 and 22.8%). In the overall population at meta-regression analysis, TCFA and current smoking were the only predictors of CPR (B 3.6:2.0-5.1, P < 0.001 and 0.06:0.02-0.1, P = 0.002, respectively). The factors associated with CPR were different depending on clinical presentation. Hypertension was the only clinical predictor for STEMI (B 3.3: 1.2.-5.3 P = 0.001), while advanced age (B 0.12: 0.02-0.22, P = 0.021), diabetes mellitus (B 0.04: 0.01-0.08, P = 0.012), and hyperlipidaemia (B 0.07:0.02-0.11, P = 0.005) were the predictors in NSTEMI and UA. No clinical predictor was found in SA. Conclusions Our analysis showed high rates of CPR and TCFA detected by OCT in CAD patients, especially in those with ACS, although their prevalence is not negligible in stable patients. TCFA seems to be a strong predictor of CPR in all the ACS scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Due to its negative impact on prognosis, a clear assessment of bleeding risk for patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains crucial. Different risk scores have been proposed and compared, although with inconsistent results. Aim: We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the accuracy of different bleeding risk scores for ACS patients. Material and methods: All studies externally validating risk scores for bleeding for patients presenting with ACS were included in the present review. Accuracy of risk scores for external validation cohorts to predict major bleeding in patients with ACS was the primary end point. Sensitivity analysis was performed according to clinical presentation (ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI)). Results: Nine studies and 13 759 patients were included. CRUSADE, ACUITY, ACTION and GRACE were the scores externally validated. The rate of in-hospital major bleeding was 7.80% (5.5-9.2), 2.05% (1.5-3.0) being related to access and 2.70% (1.7-4.0) needing transfusions. When evaluating all ACS patients, ACTION, CRUSADE and ACUITY performed similarly (AUC 0.75: 0.72-0.79; 0.71: 0.64-0.80 and 0.71: 0.63-0.77 respectively) when compared to GRACE (0.66; 0.64-0.67, all confidence intervals 95%). When appraising only STEMI patients, all the scores performed similarly, while CRUSADE was the only one externally validated for NSTEMI. For ACTION and ACUITY, accuracy increased for radial access patients, while no differences were found for CRUSADE. Conclusions: ACTION, CRUSADE and ACUITY perform similarly to predict risk of bleeding in ACS patients. The CRUSADE score is the only one externally validated for NSTEMI, while accuracy of the scores increased with radial access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for complex lesions, including unprotected left main (ULM) and bifurcations, is gaining a relevant role in treating coronary artery disease with good outcomes, also thanks to new generation stents. The daily risk of adverse cardiovascular events and their temporal distribution after these procedures is not known. All consecutive patients presenting with a critical lesion of ULM or bifurcation treated with very thin struts stents, enrolled in the RAIN-Cardiogroup VII study, were analyzed. The daily risk of major acute cardiovascular events (MACE), target lesion revascularization (TLR) and stent thrombosis (ST) and their temporal distribution in the first year of follow-up was the primary endpoint. Differences among subgroups (ULM, patient presentation, kind of stent polymer) were the secondary endpoint. 2745 patients were included, mean age 68 ± 11 years, 33.3% diabetics, 54.5% had an acute coronary syndrome (ACS); 88.5% of treated lesions were bifurcations, 27.2% ULM. Average daily risk was 0.022% for MACE, 0.005% for TLR and 0.004% for ST, in the first year. Bimodal distribution of adverse events, especially TLR, with an early peak in the first 50 days and a late one after 150 days, was observed. Patients with ULM presented a significantly higher daily risk of events, and ACS patients presented higher MACE risk. No difference emerged according to the type of stent polymer. The daily risk of adverse events in the first year after complex PCI in our study is acceptably low. PCI on ULM carries a higher risk of complications. • PCI for complex lesions with new stents carries a low daily risk of adverse events. • Daily risks are 0.022% for MACE, 0.005% for TLR and 0.004% for ST in the first year. • Daily risks of TLR and ST show a bimodal distribution. • PCI on ULM carries a higher risk of complications. • Stent polymer is not associated with a difference in the daily risk of events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]