Use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and cardiovascular outcomes following primary vascular surgery: a nationwide propensity score matched follow-up study.

Objective: To examine the association between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor use and clinical outcome after primary vascular reconstruction in a population-based follow-up study.
Methods: All Danish patients undergoing primary vascular surgical reconstruction between 1996 and 2007 were included. For each ACE user up to 5 nonuser was identified using propensity score matching followed by Cox regression. All drugs were included as time-dependent variables.
Results: Totally 17 495 matched patients with a median follow-up period of 582 days were included. All-cause mortality was 20.4% for ACE users and 24.9% for nonusers (adjusted hazard ratio [adj HR] 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81-0.96). The cumulative risk of myocardial infarction was 6.2% for ACE users and 4.7% for nonusers (adj HR 1.20, 95%CI 1.03-1.39). Cumulative risk of new vascular surgery was 24.0% for ACE users and 23.1% for nonusers (adj HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.13-1.30). No differences were seen concerning stroke and major amputation.
Conclusion: The ACE use was associated with lower all-cause mortality but also an increased long-term risk of recurrent vascular reconstruction.