Outcomes of Patients With a History of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Who Underwent Orbital Atherectomy for Severe Coronary Artery Calcification.

Objective: We assess the angiographic and clinical outcomes of patients with a history of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery who underwent orbital atherectomy for the treatment of severely calcified coronary lesions.

Background: The presence of severe coronary artery calcification (CAC) increases the complexity of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and is associated with worse clinical outcomes. Patients with a history of CABG who undergo PCI often have comorbidities and are at higher risk for ischemic complications.

Methods: Of the 458 patients who underwent orbital atherectomy, 77 patients (17%) had a history of CABG and 381 (83%) did not. The primary endpoint was rate of 30-day major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), comprised of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), target-vessel revascularization (TVR), and stroke.

Results: The CABG group had a higher prevalence of hypertension, chronic renal insufficiency, history of PCI, and unstable angina. The primary endpoint was similar in the CABG and non-CABG groups (1% vs 2%; P=.56), as were the individual endpoints of cardiac death (0% vs 2%; P=.27), MI (1% vs 1%; P=.85), TVR (0% vs 0%; P>.99), and stroke (0% vs 0%; P=.65). The rates of angiographic complications and stent thrombosis were similarly low in both groups.

Conclusion: Despite a higher-risk baseline profile, patients with a history of CABG had similar angiographic and clinical outcomes compared with patients who had no previous history of CABG. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of orbital atherectomy in these patients.