Discontinuation of β-blocker therapy in stabilised patients after acute myocardial infarction (SMART-DECISION): rationale and design of the randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: There is a lack of evidence to support the effectiveness of prolonged β-blocker therapy after stabilisation of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) without heart failure (HF) or left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

Methods And Analysis: The SMart Angioplasty Research Team: DEcision on Medical Therapy in Patients with Coronary Artery DIsease or Structural Heart Disease Undergoing InterventiON (SMART-DECISION) trial is a multicentre, prospective, open-label, randomised, non-inferiority trial designed to determine whether discontinuing β-blocker therapy after ≥1 year of maintenance in stabilised patients after AMI is non-inferior to continuing it. Patients eligible for participation are those without HF or left ventricular systolic dysfunction (ejection fraction >40%) who have been continuing β-blocker therapy for ≥1 year after AMI.

Prognostic impact of intravascular imaging in percutaneous coronary intervention according to atherothrombotic risk: a post hoc analysis of a randomized clinical trial.

Introduction And Objectives: Recent randomized controlled trials support the use of intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to improve patient prognosis. However, the subsequent risk of clinical events in patients with coronary artery disease is not determined solely by lesion characteristics or how these lesions are treated. The current study investigated whether the effects of intravascular imaging in complex PCI vary according to atherothrombotic risks.

Outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention or bypass surgery for ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Introduction And Objectives: There are 2 options to achieve revascularization in ischemic cardiomyopathy: percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). While the benefits of PCI for ischemic cardiomyopathy are unclear, achieving complete revascularization with PCI could improve outcomes comparable to CABG.

Methods: A total of 1496 patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <50% and multivessel disease who underwent either PCI or CABG were selected from a single-center cohort registry.

Fractional Flow Reserve and Fractional Flow Reserve Gradient From CCTA for Predicting Future Coronary Events.

Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a per-vessel index reflecting cumulative hemodynamic burden while coronary events occur in focal lesions.

Objectives: The authors sought to evaluate the additive prognostic value of the local gradient of FFR (FFR gradient) in addition to FFR to predict future coronary events.

Methods: The current study included 245 patients (634 vessels) who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography within 6 to 36 months before the index angiography, of which 209 vessels had future coronary events and 425 vessels did not.

Safety and efficacy of antiplatelet therapy in patients with intermediate coronary artery stenosis and deferred revascularization.

Introduction And Objectives: This study investigated the safety and efficacy of antiplatelet therapy in patients with intermediate coronary artery stenosis who underwent deferred revascularization due to their fractional flow reserve (FFR).

Methods: A nationwide cohort study was conducted using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. A total of 4657 patients with intermediate coronary artery stenosis who underwent deferred revascularization due to their FFR were identified from 2013 to 2020.

Clinical Impact of Sarcopenia Screening on Long-Term Mortality in Patients Undergoing Coronary Bypass Grafting.

Background: Sarcopenia is an aging-related condition characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass and is an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis. The relationship between reduced muscle mass and long-term clinical outcomes in patients with advanced coronary artery disease who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is not fully understood. This study is sought to evaluate the prognostic implications of sarcopenia screening in patients undergoing CABG.

Experimental validation of coronary stenosis severity and development of ischemic myocardium.

Introduction And Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the causal association between hemodynamically significant stenosis and the occurrence of ischemic myocardium using an experimental animal model of coronary artery stenosis.

Methods: In Yorkshire swine (n = 10), coronary stenosis in the left anterior descending artery was induced using a customized vascular occluder to create varying degrees of occlusion severity (40%-99%). Serial changes in coronary pressure and flow velocity were measured in the left anterior descending artery before and after the implantation of the vascular occluder.

Sex Difference in 5-year Relative Survival Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: Survival rates following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) show variability across studies, particularly regarding sex-specific outcomes. Relative survival analysis, which considers survival patterns in sex-and age-matched general populations, could help explain this variability.

Methods: In a 2011 nationwide South Korean PCI cohort study with 48,783 patients, all-cause death was assessed as the primary outcome over 5 years.

Prognosis after switching to electronic cigarettes following percutaneous coronary intervention: a Korean nationwide study.

Background And Aims: Despite the increasing popularity of electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes), the prognostic impact of switching to E-cigarettes in smokers with coronary artery disease who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains unclear.

Methods: Using a nationwide cohort from the Korean National Health Insurance database, 17 973 adults (≥20 years) identified as smokers (based on a health screening examination within 3 years before PCI) who underwent health screening within 3 years after PCI were enrolled to determine changes in smoking habits. Patients were classified as continued combustible cigarette users, successful quitters, or switchers to E-cigarettes.

Optimal timing of revascularization for patients with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction and severe left ventricular dysfunction.

Optimal timing of revascularization for patients who presented with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is unclear. A total of 386 NSTEMI patients with severe LV dysfunction from the nationwide, multicenter, and prospective Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry V (KAMIR-V) were enrolled. Severe LV dysfunction was defined as LV ejection fraction ≤ 35%.

Transfusion and clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention.

We investigated the long-term patterns and effects of transfusion on the clinical outcome of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using a nationwide registry. Five-year clinical outcome of all Koreans undergoing PCI using stent in year 2011 (n = 48,786) was investigated. Primary outcome was the incidence density of transfusion.

Angiotensin Receptor Blockers Versus Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors in Acute Myocardial Infarction Without Heart Failure.

Background: Whether angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) can be an alternative to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) in patients without heart failure (HF) after acute myocardial infarction (MI) remains controversial. The aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes between initial ARB and ACEI therapy in patients with MI without HF.

Methods: Between 2010 and 2016, a total of 31,013 patients who underwent coronary revascularization for MI with prescription of ARBs or ACEIs at hospital discharge were enrolled from the Korean nationwide medical insurance data.

Discordance Between Angiographic Assessment and Fractional Flow Reserve or Intravascular Ultrasound in Intermediate Coronary Lesions: A Post-hoc Analysis of the FLAVOUR Trial.

Background And Objectives: Angiographic assessment of coronary stenosis severity using quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) is often inconsistent with that based on fractional flow reserve (FFR) or intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). We investigated the incidence of discrepancies between QCA and FFR or IVUS, and the outcomes of FFR- and IVUS-guided strategies in discordant coronary lesions.

Methods: This study was a post-hoc analysis of the FLAVOUR study.

Optimal Antithrombotic Therapy Beyond 1-Year After Coronary Revascularization in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Currently, non-vitamin K-antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) monotherapy has been suggested as the optimal antithrombotic therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF) beyond one year after coronary revascularization. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes between NOAC monotherapy and NOAC plus antiplatelet combination therapy using real-world data.

Methods: Between 2015 and 2020, patients with AF who had received NOACs beyond one year after coronary revascularization were enrolled from Korean national insurance data.

Intravascular Imaging and Angiography Guidance in Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Among Patients With Diabetes: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Data are limited regarding the effects of intravascular imaging guidance during complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with diabetes.

Objective: To compare the clinical outcomes of intravascular imaging-guided vs angiography-guided complex PCI in patients with or without diabetes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prespecified secondary analysis of a subgroup of patients in RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance Versus Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention), an investigator-initiated, open-label multicenter trial, analyzed enrolled patients who underwent complex PCI at 20 sites in Korea from May 2018 through May 2021.

In-hospital and long-term outcomes of cardiogenic shock complicating myocardial infarction versus heart failure.

Aims: This study sought to examine the difference in clinical characteristics, treatment strategy, trends in mortality, and medical costs according to the aetiologies of cardiogenic shock (CS).

Methods And Results: This was a population-based, nationwide, cohort study from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. All CS adults (≥18 years) were admitted to an intensive care unit from January 2010 to December 2020.