30-day outcome after percutaneous coronary angioplasty in nonagenarians: feasibility and specific considerations in different clinical settings.

Background: Nonagenarians have been systematically excluded from randomized trials dealing with invasive coronary strategies, resulting in a lack of evidence-based guidelines regarding the optimal approach in this population.

Aim: To describe the clinical and procedural characteristics and outcomes of patients 90 years of age or older who were treated with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

Methods: We evaluated the 30-day outcomes of patients 90 years or older who underwent PCI at our institution, comparing the ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) subgroup with the non-STEMI/unstable angina (UA) and stable angina (SA) subgroups, who had been referred for coronary angiography.

Results: Over the time period 2002-2011, we identified 45 nonagenarians (mean age, 93 years; range, 90-102 years). The majority (59%) presented with an acute coronary syndrome and underwent immediate coronary revascularization by PCI. Technical success rate was 90%. The frequency of in-hospital death, need for urgent coronary artery bypass surgery, periprocedural cerebrovascular accident, and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral events was 11%, 4.5%, 4.5%, and 18%, respectively. At 30 days, mortality was exclusively related to the STEMI subgroup with hemodynamic instability, compared with the non STEMI/UA and SA population.

Conclusions: In carefully selected nonagenarians, PCI in contemporary practice may be performed with a high technical success rate with relatively low morbidity and mortality. Questions are raised about the feasibility and outcome of invasive coronary strategies in the high-risk clinical subgroup of STEMI and hemodynamic instability.